Pictures
by MelInuLover
Summary: Kagome brings her camera to the Feudal Era and takes pictures of everyone...but Miroku decides to use it to spy on Kagome and Inuyasha...Kag/Inu!
1. Picture Perfect Sunset?

**Okay here's a disclaimer for everyone: I don't own Inuyasha and I (sadly) never will **

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**Pictures**

Chapter 1: Picture-Perfect Sunset?

It's late afternoon, and Inuyasha and the gang have been travelling at a slow, comfortable pace for the past week as they head back to Kaede's village. Normally, this slow pace would've bugged the crap out of the irritable hanyou, but he knew that the sooner they got back to the village the sooner Kagome would leave for her time--and who knew how long she would be gone this time? So, albeit for now, Inuyasha decided to be patient.

The group had all been in a gloomy mood ever since their latest battle with Naraku, especially Sango; the poor girl had seen her brother again being controlled by their despicable enemy.

"Wow, that sunset is beautiful," Kagome breathed, turning around and looking at the direction they had come from. Everyone turns around, and the mood lightens briefly as everyone sees what Kagome was talking about. It truly was an amazing sunset, full of orange, pink, and yellow colors swirling around the setting sun.

"It is," agreed Shippo. "I wish I could capture it and keep it forever." The group collectively sighs in unison except for Kagome, who shrieked in delight.

"Wait a second!" she yelled, digging madly through her huge yellow backpack. As her friends all give each other confused glances, Kagome continues to furiously search through the bag, all the while muttering to herself.

"Kagome, what are you looking for?" Sango asked, but it was pointless. The girl just ignored her and kept on looking through the massive bag.

She stayed that way for a full minute until, finally, she pulled a fist-sized silver box out of the bag. The box had a big black circle on one side and a black sqaure on the opposite side. "Thank goodness!" she cried. "For a second I thought I had left this at home. I almost forgot I brought it with me."

A few moments passed as no one said anything and just simply stared at the triumphant expression on the young miko's face. "Um, Kagome...what is that thing?" Inuyasha finally asked.

"Oh, yeah, you guys don't know." She smiled. "This is a digital camera. Everyone has these in my era; they're used to capture images in a picture so you can keep them forever."

At this, everyone gasped. Kagome, giggling, proceded to press a button on the camera, causing a small green light to blink and black circle to stick out a little from the front of the box. Inuyasha grabbed the camera and started shaking it, much to Kagome's disapproval. "Hey, stop that!" she snapped, pulling the object out of his hands. "This thing is delicate, and I just got it for my birthday, so don't go breaking it!" She sighed and pressed a few more buttons on it before turning back to the sunset.

"Okay, everyone go stand over there." She pointed towards a spot on the road they had been travelling on and the rest of the group hesitantly walked on over. "Now get closer together and smile." Everyone but Inuyasha did as she said, and the hanyou instead crossed his arms.

"What are you gonna do with that cam-thing?" he asked.

"I'm gonna take a picture of you guys," she said impatiently. "But if you don't hurry up, the sunset will be gone!" Inuyasha suspiciously walked behind the monk and demon-slayer, but didn't smile. "Okay. As soon as I count to three, I'm gonna take the picture! One...two...three!"

But right before Kagome said three, a few things happened. Miroku chose this opportune moment to grab Sango's butt, which caused her to slap him. Shippo, who had been stationed on Miroku's shoulder, instead jumped onto Inuyasha's shoulder, causing the half-demon to yell and grab the kitsune by his tail.

Kagome, sighing heavily after all the commotion, looked down on the screen of the camera at the picture she had taken. Inuyasha, yelling with his mouth wide open, was glaring at a terrified (and slightly annoyed) Shippo, while Sango's hand was just making contact with Miroku's scared cheek. The sunset, of course, was beautiful. And, though everyone was either angry or scared in the product, Kagome couldn't help but laugh. This was, actually, a much more realistic image of exactly what would happen in a typical day with her companions.

So, while Sango, Miroku, Inuyasha, and Shippo all argued, Kagome continued to laugh. _This camera is going to be a lot of fun_, she thought.

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**Mmkay, well I just joined this website so I have to wait for a few days before I can put this story up. Which sucks. But I guess it's sorta a good thing...hopefully I can have the next few chapters ready by then! Depending on whether I decide I still like the story tomorrow...haha.**

**Well it's late, and I'm gonna go to bed. Good night!**


	2. Waterfall

**Disclaimer (again): I do not own the hot hanyou, Inuyasha.**

**Allright, well, here's chapter two. Hopefully it will be longer than the first (I wanted chapter one to be longer, but then it kinda ended at a good point and I was tired, so...), and hopefully I won't get extremely sleepy while typing. Again. Hehe**

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**Pictures**

Chapter 2: Waterfall

Kagome woke up the next morning feeling extremely well-rested. Glancing around the camp while stretching, she seemed to be the first one up, so she decided to take another look at the pictures she had taken the previous evening.

Pulling out her camera, Kagome took a look at the very first picture, the one with the sunset, and started smiling. The next few were unrecognizable images, all of them blurry, because she'd had everyone try to take a picture after she explained how to use it. Miroku was the quickest to understand, and proceded to take nearly a dozen pictures of Sango, who blushed prettily in each one.

Inuyasha had had the most trouble, and very nearly broke the camera a few times after getting frustrated at it. Kagome had luckily grabbed it before he had a chance to damage it at all and had decided that Inuyasha probably wasn't to be trusted with anything expensive and _breakable_.

The last few pictures were ones that Kagome had taken while they had set up camp. A few were of Miroku and Sango talking while they collected firewood and built a fire, either angry or smiling at each other. The rest, she realized with embarassment, were all of her beloved hanyou.

In a couple of the pictures Inuyasha was yelling at her (looking at these, she could almost hear him saying, "Damn it, Kagome! When are you gonna stop taking pictures with that camera of yours?"), but mostly she had caught him off-guard when he didn't really have a strong emotion on his face. He wasn't smiling in any of the pictures, but Kagome vowed to herself that she would eventually get a good picture of Inuyasha before her camera's memory was full. _Which, if I keep this up, will be really soon_, she thought.

Without waking Shippo, who was still snuggled in one of Sota's old sleeping bags next to her own one, Kagome walked over and stoked the fire that was almost dying with a long stick.

"You're up early," said a voice from close behind her, making her jump and drop the stick into the fire.

Kagome twirled around and sighed. "Inuyasha, you scared me!" she said, placing her hand on her racing heart.

"Sorry," he grumbled, smiling slightly. He stretched his hands high above his head, the smile broadening, so that when he was back to facing Kagome, he had a sleepy grin crossing his handsome face. _Now _that's _the smile I wish I could capture in my camera..._Kagome thought idly as she smiled back at the hanyou.

"We should probably get going," Inuyasha said, his smile fading. "As soon as everyone else wakes up."

Kagome nodded and reluctantly turned away to roll up her sleeping bag, wishing she had something else to say to him--something more meaningful. Of course, she would never admit that she was in love with him, not in a million years. But she still longed to know that he loved her back... _Oh, who am I kidding? He'll never tell me he loves me. He's still in love with Kikyo!_

As the miko rolled the sleeping bag up tightly, the young kitsune beside her stirred. "Morning, Kagome," he said groggily, rubbing his eyes.

"Good morning, Shippo!" Kagome answered cheerfully. "How are you feeling?"

The boy smiled. "Great!" he shouted. "Oh, look, Sango and Miroku are getting up, too!"

"Well, I guess I should start breakfast, then..." Kagome sighed, lugging her huge bag over to the fire.

"Come on, Kagome!" Inuyasha stopped and called to the miko, who was currently holding her camera up and focusing hard on taking a picture of a beautiful waterfall they had happened to pass.

"Hold on one second!" she shouted, frowning as she looked down at the camera. A red light was blinking where the green one had previously been. It was out of batteries.

Miroku, Sango, Shippo, and Kilala continued to walk down the path while Inuyasha walked back to Kagome. "Will you hurry up?" He yelled impatiently as he approached the girl.

"My camera's out of batteries," Kagome muttered, handing the hanyou the silver box. "Hold that for a minute." She then proceded to dig furiously in her bag again, this time muttering about batteries.

Inuyasha was about to yell back about the order she had just given him, but instead looked down at the camera. He had accidentally pressed a button while taking the camera from Kagome, and a bunch of colored little squares appeared on the black screen. It took him a second to realize that these must be the pictures she had taken, and he used what Kagome had taught him about how to use the camera and began to look through them.

It didn't take Inuyasha long to realize that most of the pictures were of himself, causing a small blush to creep across his cheeks. _Why did Kagome take so many pictures of me?_ he thought, looking up at the girl who was still searching through her bag. _She is so beautiful...I wish I could just tell her how I feel..._

"Got it!" Kagome shouted, pulling a small package out of her backpack. When there was no response from the hanyou, Kagome looked up. "What's wrong, Inuyasha?"

It took Inuyasha a moment to discover that he was still staring at Kagome, and shook his head, embarassed. "N-nothing," he stuttered as he gazed into her big, chocolate eyes. "I was just wondering why you took so many pictures of me."

Kagome's mouth fell open as she looked at the camera. _He looked at the pictures!_ she screamed in her head. _Oh, no!_ Her face flushed as she grabbed the camera back from Inuyasha and hastily stuffed it into a side pocket of her backpack. "Umm...well, I was just...testing my photography skills, and you were always the nearest to me when we were walking, so..." she lied horribly, knowing he would probably see through her easily.

Inuyasha's eyes narrowed as he laughed at the girl. "Sure," he replied. He opened his mouth to say something else, but closed it when he realized how uncomfortable Kagome looked. Instead, he said, "So, I guess we should catch up to the others, then." He smiled a little, and Kagome relaxed.

_I wish she would tell me how she feels sometimes, _Inuyasha thought as they continued down the road, _but, then again, why would she talk to me when she has Sango?_

Kagome, who had completely forgotten about taking a picture of the waterfall, smiled to herself as she walked next to Inuyasha. Without even thinking, and surprising the hanyou completely, she grabbed his hand.

Inuyasha jumped slightly at Kagome's touch and turned to face the girl. "Kagome..." he muttered, but she rested her head against his shoulder and kept walking, her eyes closed as she continued to smile. He saw the smile and couldn't help but smile back. _Some day...I'll get you to tell me how you feel..._he thought.

So the content hanyou closed his fingers around those of the girl he loved so much, and gave them a slight squeeze. And then the couple headed off down the road, unaware that a certain demon slayer, monk, and kitsune had all been watching from a convenient place in the trees...

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"Aww, that's sweet," Sango breathed as she watched her friends walking down the path, hand in hand.

Miroku just grinned, no doubt thinking about something perverted, so Sango was content to just leave him alone. But then she realized that they were supposed to be up ahead of Inuyasha and Kagome...

"Miroku, we need to go!" she shouted as the couple disappeared behind a bend in the path, heading deeper into the forest.

Miroku shook his head, snapping out of his lecherous thoughts. "Oh, right, I suppose we do," he answered, pulling Shippo onto his shoulder and walking out onto the path.

"Not that way, stupid monk," Sango said, climbing onto a transformed-Kilala's back. "Climb on."

Miroku did as she said, but then Shippo hopped down onto the ground. "Hey, look! Kagome dropped her camera!" he shouted, grabbing the small box from the path.

"Oh, it must've fallen out of her bag...well, I guess we can slip it in her bag when she isn't looking. I just hope she doesn't notice it's gone before we can," the demon slayer sighed. "Come on, Shippo, let's go."

The kitsune hopped on top of the feline's back just as Miroku decided to grab a certain woman's butt. Sango shrieked before striking the monk across the face. "You idiot," she muttered as Kilala took off, flying around the trees so as not to be seen by Kagome and Inuyasha.

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**Hehe. Not sure if I like this at all, but...oh well. Hmmmm...I don't have anything else to say.**


	3. Memories

**Well I finally got to put my story up, so I think I'm gonna keep going with it...**

**Thank you so much GodOfFlame101 for your review! I've been unsure about this story, and it's definitely nice to know that someone enjoyed it!**

**Disclaimer...I don't own Inuyasha.**

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**Pictures**

Chapter 3: Memories

Kagome and Inuyasha had been walking for a while through the woods before the miko suddenly stopped.

"What's wrong?" the hanyou asked, seeing a frown on Kagome's face.

"I...I thought I sensed a sacred jewel shard, but..." She shook her head. "Oh, never mind. I guess it was nothing." She smiled and kept walking, pulling the confused Inuyasha along by their connected hands.

_What was that? I am almost positive I felt the presence of the sacred jewel..._Kagome thought as they continued to walk. She could see an opening in the trees up ahead as they rounded a corner in the path.

"Oh, damn it," Inuyasha muttered, releasing Kagome's hand and stepping in front of her just as they reached the field beyond the forest.

"What is it?" the miko asked, but then she felt the sacred jewel again, and knew exactly what was coming. Or, rather, _who_ was coming. She sighed heavily, waiting patiently for what she knew was about to happen.

"Hey, Kagome!" said a cheery voice that had suddenly appeard beside her. Koga.

Before Kagome could answer, Inuyasha had punched the wolf demon in the face, causing Koga to jump backwards. "Hey, knock it out, dog. I'm not here to fight with you." Inuyasha looked puzzled and Kagome relieved until Koga spoke again. "I'm here to be with my girl, Kagome."

In response, Inuyasha dove at the demon, and they began to chase each other around the field. Kagome sighed again and didn't notice when Miroku, Shippo, and Sango flew in on Kilala and landed about a hundred feet away, watching the battle between the two demons with something less than interest.

Kagome, tiring of the useless fighting between the rivals, stepped into the field. "Sit!" she shouted, knowing it was the only way to get Inuyasha to stop. She then ran out to where the hanyou was lying, face down, on the grass, struggling to get up.

"What the hell-" he started, but Kagome cut him off.

"Inuyasha, just let me talk to Koga, okay?" she asked.

The hanyou sat up and growled at the wolf demon, but otherwise didn't do anything to stop her.

Kagome smiled a little and turned back to Koga. "What are you doing here, Koga?" she asked politely. "Besides to see me?"

The grin that had been plastered onto Koga's face disappeared, and the wolf demon crossed his arms, scowling. "Naraku attacked my tribe," he said plainly.

"He..did what?" asked Miroku, who, along with Shippo, Sango, and Kilala, had walked up to the others and joined the conversation. "Why?"

Koga shrugged. "Who knows? The bastard didn't hurt anyone, but I wasn't there to defend my comrades..." He stared at the ground for a moment before looking over at Inuyasha. "Have you guys ran into Naraku lately?"

"About a week ago," the hanyou answered, "we fought with him up north. But he didn't seem to be up to anything unusual."

"Maybe he was just after your shards again, Koga," Sango suggested.

The wolf glanced at Sango and then turned his attention back to Kagome, walking over to her. "I'm just glad that you're safe, precious Kagome," he said softly, grabbing her hand. "If anything had happened to you, I-"

"No one cares, mangy wolf!" Inuyasha shouted, slapping his arm away from Kagome and stepping in front of her again.

Kagome, sighing again, stepped around a surprised Inuyasha. "Koga, if Naraku attacks you again, could you come and find us? We're heading back to Kaede's village right now, so you could come there. We'll tell you if he is acting strange the next time we run into him, okay?"

Koga smiled and looked into Kagome's eyes. "Whatever you say, my dear Kagome," he answered. "I'll be back to see you really soon!" And then he ran away.

Everyone stood still for a moment before Shippo spoke. "Well, that was fast," he said. "Usually he at least stays longer and attempts to take Kagome away!"

Kagome shook her head. _When will he give up?_ she thought, turning to Inuyasha. But Inuyasha wasn't looking at her. Actually, he was making a point to _not_ look at the girl. "Inuyasha, what's wrong?" the miko asked, knowing very well what was bugging the hanyou.

"Nothing, stupid," he said, staring off at some point in the distance.

Miroku, Sango, and Shippo knew that a 'sit' was coming, so they walked away a little, trying to get away from the fight that was sure to come. All of them was surprised when, instead, Kagome wrapped her arms around Inuyasha, who was also taken completely by surprise.

"Inuyasha, you know I don't have any..._feelings_...for Koga, right?" she asked, burying her face in his kimono.

_What...she's...hugging me?_ Inuyasha thought, resisting the urge to hug the girl back. "Keh. How would I know that, with the way you flirt with him all the time?" He flinched a little, thinking she was about to get angry.

Instead, Kagome hugged the hanyou tighter. "I'm tired of fighting with you about this," she whispered to him. "I don't love Koga, and I never will. I'm sorry I said...s-i-t...to you. I just knew that it was the only way to get you to stop fighting with him."

Inuyasha gave in, squeezing the girl in his strong arms. "It's okay," he replied softly, pressing his cheek against her head. "I won't fight with him anymore if it bugs you that much."

Kagome smiled but knew that this last statement wouldn't last very long. _The next time we see Koga, they'll be back to fighting again..._

The couple stood like that for a few moments, until they click of a camera and sprung apart. Standing several feet away was Miroku, taking a look at the picture he had just taken with the small silver box.

"Hey! H-how did you get my camera?" she shouted, running at the monk.

Inuyasha beat her to him, and proceded to hit Miroku on his head. "You stupid pervert, give Kagome back her camera." The monk smiled despite the bruise that was already starting to form on his head, and reluctantly handed the camera over to the miko who was now also standing in front of him.

Kagome's face was bright red as she grabbed the camera and stuffed it in her bag, which she had dropped near the edge of the field where they were all standing now. _I left my bag here...so that's how he got the camera..._

"I'm sorry for that, but you two make a really cute couple," the monk said, smirking sarcastically at the hanyou. Inuyasha worked off his embarassment and anger by chasing Miroku around the field while Shippo, Sango, and Kagome watched, laughing.

"Stupid boys," Sango said, winking at her friend.

Kagome smiled as she watched her beloved hanyou running around the field. She really was sick of fighting with him..._Maybe we can finally stop fighting all the time...but I don't mind him arguing with Miroku..._

And then Kagome pulled out her camera and took a few pictures of the boys running around the field, knowing that, at some point, she wouldn't be able to come back to the Feudal Era anymore, and she would miss days like this. However annoying they seemed when they were arguing or fighting, Kagome loved everything about her friends. And that was the reason she had originally brought the camera back in time with her.

For memories.

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**I really don't have anything to write down here. Except that I'm not sure if I'll have the next chapter up tomorrow...I have a lot of stuff going on. Friday, hopefully? Probably.**

**Buhbye!!**


	4. Bad News

**Yeah...uhh...chapter four...well I don't have anything to say right at the moment. Thanks to all my reviewers!!**

**And now for a disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha...**

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**Pictures**

Chapter 4: Bad News

A few days passed peacefully as the group continued travelling to Kaede's village, which was about a days' walk away. It was mid-morning and they were all still stretching after sleeping in a bit more than usual. The sun was shining brightly with just a few fluffy white clouds dotting the sky here and there...

Kagome found herself looking at the clouds as she walked forward. _That one looks a lot like a dog..._she realized and looked down at the hanyou walking in front of her. She sighed silently, recalling the past few days. He had hardly said anything to her, and she was beginning to get worried. Maybe hugging him had been a bad idea after all..._I wish he would just talk to me! Stubborn hanyou..._

Inuyasha could feel someone staring at him, so he stopped walking and turned and to see that Kagome was looking right at him. As soon as he did, though, the miko looked away, her cheeks reddening. "What's wrong, Kagome?" Sango, who had been walking beside the girl, asked.

"Um, nothing," Kagome answered, attempting to walk around Inuyasha. But the hanyou put a hand on her shoulder to stop her.

"You've been acting wierd lately," he said, frowning.

_I have?_ thought Kagome. _Oh, man, if Inuyasha noticed it then it means that the others must have also...great._ "No, I'm fine," she said, smiling.

But Inuyasha kept his hand on her shoulder, unsure of what to say. _Something's definitely different about Kagome...she's been acting like she wishes she hadn't hugged me,_ thought the hanyou. _I should just say something, but what do I tell her?_ Giving up, Inuyasha withdrew his hand. "Whatever," he said, crossing his arms and continuing to walk. He thought he heard Kagome sigh again and immediately regretted his cold tone. He didn't want to hurt Kagome anymore than he already had...

He turned stopped walking and turned around again, facing the miko. "Kagome, I..." he started, but then he immediately stopped talking as a familiar scent filled the air.

"What's wrong?" Kagome asked, noticing the angry look on Inuyasha's face.

But before Inuyasha could answer, Kagome sensed the power of a nearly-complete sacred jewel, tainted to the point of blackness.

"Naraku," they both uttered at the same time, as Sango, Miroku, and Shippo all tensed up.

"Where is he?" Miroku asked, absentmindedly grabbing his right hand. Sango, noticing this, grimaced. Her fiance had only a few months left before the cursed wind tunnel in his hand would swallow him up, and...it hurt her too much to think of what would happen then. She would be alone.

Sango swallowed hard and grabbed her hiraikotsu, preparing for the battle that was sure to come soon.

Inuyasha sniffed the air again as his ears twitched this way and that. "I can't tell," he said, frustrated. "It's like he's...coming from all directions. Damn it!" He spun around on his heel and strained his eyes, but couldn't see anything. _What the hell?_

But then Kagome gasped. "He's right above us!" she shouted, pointing at the sky, where a dark purple cloud was just beginning to form. Everyone else looked where she was pointing and saw the cloud starting to drift down towards them.

Inuyasha cursed again and then scooped Kagome up in his arms. Sango, Miroku, and Shippo hopped on Kilala, and they all moved away as the purple cloud descended and finally came to a halt on the ground. It was now easily ten times bigger than they had ever seen it--and it was still growing.

"What the hell is this?" Inuyasha wondered aloud, staring at the cloud.

"I don't know, but Naraku's definitely inside of it," said Kagome. "The jewel's presence is extremely strong in there."

Sango turned to Miroku. "But why would Naraku himself appear here? That's not like him at all," she said.

The monk shrugged. "Who knows?"

Suddenly, a blast of purple shot at them from the cloud. Inuyasha and the others dodged it as they heard a laugh come from inside the cloud. "Inuyasha, your senses have dulled," Naraku said, though they still couldn't see him. "You couldn't tell where I was even when I was directly above you. Kukuku..."

"Shut up!" Inuyasha shouted, clenching his fists.

"What do you want with us?" Kagome yelled, her bow in hand while her other one brushed against the arrows on her back.

"Actually, I didn't come to fight you," said Naraku. "I merely came to relay a message to the half-breed."

Kagome could hear Inuyasha growling as he stood next to her and knew that he wanted so very badly to fight Naraku...this wasn't going to end without a battle.

"Keh, and what would that be?" yelled Inuyasha.

Naraku laughed for a moment before answering. "Kikyo is dead," the demon said, and then he laughed even more. _Oh, no,_ thought Kagome, as she tentatively glanced at Inuyasha. The half-demon didn't look sad--yet. Instead, he seemed to be severely pissed off. His fists were clenched so tightly that blood was dripping from his hands. "I happened across her right after I ran into your group, and she actually attempted to take the sacred jewel from me. How pathetic it was. I almost contemplated allowing her to live, but it would have been pointless. Why not go ahead and get rid of one thorn in my side?

"So I did. She's probably rotting away on the ground somewhere by now." Inuyasha's growl became even louder. "Now the only shards I need are your pathetic collection and that irritating wolf's shards. But I don't really feel like fighting you now, so goodbye, Inuyasha." Naraku laughed even more, and then he began to drift away into the sky again.

"Damn you! You're not getting away!" Inuyasha growled as he ran after the cloud of purple miasma. He unsheathed Tetsusaiga and screamed, "WIND SCAR!" but the cloud was already beginning to disappear.

Kagome aimed an arrow at Naraku and released, causing a yellowish light to pierce the purple. For a moment, the miko could see the evil half-demon inside his barrier of miasma. He appeared to be laughing at her, and she didn't know why until another blast of purple came flying directly at her.

"Kagome!" she heard Inuyasha yell as he sprinted towards her. His voice cracked, and he sounded like he was crying. _For Kikyo..._thought the miko. _Of course he would be crying. He just lost someone he loved very much..._

Kagome heard him yell her name one more time before the purple miasma surrounded her body and her vision went black.

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_Where am I? It's...it's warm in here..._

At first when the young miko woke up, all she could feel was warmth and a blistering headache. Her eyes wouldn't open and she couldn't move, so she was content to just lay there. After a while, though, she could here some voices nearby, and she strained her ears to listen.

"...two days since we saw him, why hasn't she woken up yet?"

_I recognize that voice...who is it again?_

"The miasma hit her hard, so her body is still poisoned. I don't know how long it will be before she'll be able to wake up," said another voice..._an older voice...Kaede..._

"Damn it!" shouted the first voice.

_Inuyasha!_ Kagome realized, and her heart beat painfully, mirroring her headache. _He's probably still upset about Kikyo...poor Inuyasha..._

And then the pain from Kagome's head became too great, and she passed out again.

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**Well, that's done...sorry it took longer than I'd expected! I've had a really crazy weekend and I didn't have very much time to write at all. Plus, my creativity was seriously low the past few days. This chapter probably reflected that, so...sorry everyone...**

**Hopefully I'll have the next chapter up soon!**


	5. Awakening

**Nothing to say, except...thanks reviewers! Oh, and, GodOfFlame101, I didn't feel obligated to read your stories, I just figured since you write such awesome reviews you are probably a good author also (I turned out to be right)!**

**I don't own Inuyasha. Or Kagome, or Miroku, or Sango, or Sesshomaru...the list goes on and on, doesn't it? Anyway...**

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**Pictures**

Chapter 5: Awakening

"Damn it," said Inuyasha for about the hundredth time as he sat on top of Kaede's roof, his foot tapping impatiently on the black shingles. "When the hell will she wake up?" It had been four days since Kagome had been hit by Naraku's miasma, and the girl still hadn't woken up. The hanyou had become more and more frustrated--as well as worried, though he would never admit it--with each passing minute.

_What if she never wakes up?_ he thought to himself, fear filling his mind. _No, Kagome's strong, _he decided, and went back to tapping his foot.

"Will you stop that?" yelled an annoyed demon slayer's voice from inside. A few moments later, Sango and Miroku stepped out of the hut and glared at the hanyou.

"Lay off," replied Inuyasha, tucking his hands into his sleeves and making a point to not look at the pair staring up at him. Instead, he focused on the gray and cloudy sky surrounding him that mirrored his emotions. The weather had been ugly the past few days, but it hadn't rained yet.

Everyone had been extremely worried when they had first brought Kagome to Kaede's hut, and had relaxed when they'd said she would be allright...but she was still unconscious. Sango, Miroku, Shippo, and Kaede were all waiting patiently, but Inuyasha was another story.

"Look, we all know you're worried about Kagome..." started Miroku.

"Keh, as if," muttered Inuyasha.

"...but couldn't you do something else besides sulking and tapping your foot _over and over _again?" the monk finished.

"Yeah, and what the hell am I supposed to do?" Inuyasha shouted, glaring at Miroku. "It's not as if I can help her wake up." He shook his head and said, "She's taking her damn time getting better, that's all I can say."

Miroku sighed and walked back inside, knowing that trying to consult the hanyou was pointless. He was simple-minded. Sango was about to follow the monk into the hut, but stopped before entering and looked back up at the figure on the roof.

"Inuyasha, is that all that this is really about?" she asked, hoping he wouldn't just yell at her.

"What do you mean?" snarled the hanyou.

"I mean," and she softened her voice a bit, "aren't you still sad that Kikyo died?"

Inuyasha's angry expression faltered for a moment, but he quickly recovered and opened his mouth as if to yell. But then he decided against it and, instead, said, "A little."

Sango was completely taken aback. She had figured Inuyasha would just yell at her, but apparently he was more hurt than she had originally thought. _What do I say to him? If only Kagome was awake right now..._The demon slayer considered for a moment, and then turned to the hanyou.

"Inuyasha, I think that you should go try to find Kikyo's body," she suggested. "If she was already dead, then it can't have...umm...rotted...too much in the past few weeks." She smiled a little at that awkward sentence, half expecting, again, for the demon to yell at her.

Inuyasha sat there for a moment before hopping off of the roof. Without saying a word, he nodded at Sango and walked into Kaede's hut.

"Can I have a moment with Kagome?" he asked, walking over to the unconscious girl and ignoring the blatant disbelieving stares of the rest of the people in the hut, who had obviously all been eavesdropping on his conversation with Sango. "_Alone_?" he growled when no one moved, and they all scurried outside.

The hanyou sat down next to his beloved miko and had to fight back tears as he looked at her face. Her frozen expression was a sorrowful and pained one plastered on the pasty white that was her normally beautiful face. He sighed and grabbed one of her hands, feeling how icy cold it was and wishing he was somehow able to warm her body and bring the life back into her.

"Kagome..." he whispered, a single tear escaping and running down his cheek. "Please...wake up..." He gave her lifeless hand one last squeeze and then let it drop, limp as a ragdoll, by her side. "I'll be back soon."

And then the half-demon walked out of the hut and into the depressingly cloudy day to recover his once-lover's body. _Kagome, I don't love Kikyo anymore...I stopped loving her the day I met you..._

Sango, Miroku, Shippo, and Kaede all watched the hanyou leave with trepidation, knowing he probably wouldn't find the late miko's body...

Knowing they were all thinking the same thing, none of them said a word. A few minutes passed in silence as the group all stared in the direction Inuyasha had left, each one lost in thought, until a yell came from inside the hut.

They all rushed back inside and saw Kagome sitting up.

* * *

"INUYASHA!" Kagome screamed, waking with a start. She was breathing hard and her hands were sweaty as she tentatively sat up, rubbing her aching head.

_A...nightmare?_ she thought as she struggled to remember the dream she had been previously having. All she could remember was Inuyasha's demonic red eyes glaring at her while Naraku laughed...and then she had woken up.

After sitting for a few seconds, Kagome took a look at her surroundings. _I'm at Kaede's,_ she realized, looking at the empty hut, until suddenly the hut wasn't so empty anymore.

Sango, Miroku, Shippo, and Kaede had just entered the room and were all staring at the girl, the worry on all their faces turning to joy as they headed closer to her.

"Kagome!" Shippo shouted as he jumped onto said girl's lap. "You're finally awake!" He hugged her tightly and she returned the hug, wondering why everyone was so relieved to see her.

"What do you mean, _finally_?" Kagome asked, puzzled.

Sango and Miroku exchanged a glance as Kaede answered. "Child, ye have been sleeping for four days now," she said slowly, never taking her eyes of the miko.

"What?" asked Kagome, looking at her other friends. "What...what happened?" It took her a minute before she realized that Inuyasha wasn't present. "And where's Inuyasha?"

"You mean...you don't remember anything?" Sango asked, her happy face switching back to a worried one when Kagome shook her head.

"The last thing I remember was Naraku coming and telling us..." But she stopped as she remembered what the evil half-demon had come to inform the group of. _Kikyo...she died...and Inuyasha was..._She felt tears coming to her eyes as she remembered everything that happened. _Inuyasha misses Kikyo, so it's probably best that I was unconscious for the past several days. He probably won't want to look at me for the next few weeks..._

"Inuyasha went to get Kikyo's body," said Miroku softly, knowing it would cause Kagome pain but still believing she deserved to know where the hanyou went.

"Never mind," said Kagome, her voice cracking because of the tears. "I remember everything now...and...I should probably leave." She stood up, ignoring her still pounding headache, and staggered a little bit, falling into Sango's arms.

"Kagome, you still need to rest," said her demon slayer friend, who held onto the miko's shoulders as she helped her stand. "You were hit hard by Naraku's miasma."

"No...I don't think that...that Inuyasha would want me to be here when he returns," said Kagome as she shrugged off Sango's grasp and headed over to her yellow backpack. _They must have carried me all the way here...how weak of me...it was just a little miasma..._

The miko grabbed her backpack. "But Kagome, surely Inuyasha wouldn't..." started Miroku, but Kagome's sad gaze cut him off. Instead, he said, "Come back soon. I know he'll want to see that you're okay."

Kagome didn't respond, and turned to wave tenderly to Shippo and Kaede, who were speechless. "I'll be back in a few days," she said, but it was a complete lie, and everyone in the hut knew it. And then the young miko left, leaving her dispirited friends behind.

On the way to the ancient well, Kagome was in a dream-like state. The sky was a murky gray color in the late afternoon, and it perfectly paralleled her emotions. _I'll give Inuyasha some time,_ she decided as she watched her feet moving forward along the grassy path through the trees. _He can't stay upset forever..._

She paused at the well and listened to the wind moving through the trees for a moment before jumping in and returning to her own world. _The world where I belong..._

* * *

Sitting on her bed after a big dinner of her mother's homemade cooking, Kagome was in a much better mood. She decided to study a little, even though deep inside it she knew it was totally pointless. She had already passed the high school entrance exams, and she doubted it was too important whether or not she did well on the next few tests.

Regardless of that, the miko opened her yellow backpack and found her math textbook, pulling hard on it. The big book wouldn't come out though, so she pulled even harder, until the whole backpack toppled off the bed and onto the floor, spilling its contents everywhere.

Sighing, Kagome bent over to retrieve all of the stuff. The first thing her hands grabbed was a small silver box, and she gasped. She hadn't even thought about her camera for a few days.

Feeling a pang in her chest, she quickly pressed the on button, but the camera didn't turn on. _Oh, no...it can't be broken!_ But then she remembered that she had never replaced the batteries, and looked around her floor at the spilled contents of her bag until she found a small plastic bag filled with cylinders.

After replacing the batteries, Kagome hurriedly turned the camera on. As she looked through the pictures one by one, each different snapshot brought a different emotion to her heart. She slowly looked through the pictures until, at last, she reached the last picture. Holding her breath, Kagome pressed the button to reveal the picture she knew was coming, and she gasped.

The last picture was the one that Miroku had taken of her and Inuyasha hugging after Koga had left. _Why does Miroku have to be such a talented photographer?_ thought Kagome as she stared at the small screen on her camera. She had been hugging Inuyasha tightly around the waist, her face buried in his chest, and he had his hands smoothed across her shoulders, his cheek pressed into her long black hair.

Looking at the picture caused a few tears to roll down Kagome's cheeks, as it had reminded her of the reason she had come back to her era in the first place.

_I should just delete this..._she thought as her finger hovered over the delete button.

But she couldn't bring herself to do it, and instead turned the camera off, making a mental note to get those pictures printed as soon as possible so she could take more pictures.

So as Kagome opened her textbooks to study, she couldn't help but smile at the memories that came with her camera. Though she had only had it for a few days in the Feudal Era, it had already served its purpose well.

_That camera really did come in handy_, she thought as she recalled the last picture again.

* * *

**Phew. That one took a while because I kept changing stuff and then changing it back and...blah blah...but it was an endless cycle (or so it seemed) until now! I'm done, yay! But now I have to write another chapter...hehehe...**

**Well, anyway, that was some pointless babbling for you.**

**I'll update again soon!**


	6. Attack

**Thank you LolliBear06 for correcting my grammatical error...I constantly use words that aren't even part of the English language (in my speech also, hehe) and I should probably get out of that habit...well, here's chapter 6!!**

**I don't own Inuyasha. Sadly.**

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**Pictures**

Chapter 6: Attack

The next day passed by extremely slowly for Kagome. It was a Sunday, and, with no school to go to, she had nothing to do but stay at home with her family. It would have normally been wonderful, but Sota was obsessed with a new video game he had just gotten for his birthday and wouldn't stop playing it, and Kagome's mother was on a mission to clean the whole home (including the shrine and storage shed outside) and would barely pay any attention to her daughter except to ask for assistance. Kagome started to avoid her.

Gramps was being his usual spiritual-obsessed self and would speak to Kagome only when she was in the mood to talk about the Feudal Era. Which, for the past few days, had been never.

When, finally, Sunday was over, Kagome considered jumping back down the well but decided against it. _I'll just wait a few days..._she thought as she stood next to the ancient well, staring down into it. _That would probably be best._

So Monday came, and Kagome was in a good mood. She hadn't seen any of her friends for over a month, and it was a bright and cheery morning as she headed to school.

"Kagome!" three giggling girls shouted as soon as she walked into her first class of the day.

"Hey!" yelled Kagome to them as they ran over to greet her. She felt a pang in her heart when she realized how long it had been since she'd seen these girls. _They even look different_, Kagome thought as she took in their various haircuts and growth.

"So the doctor decided to let you go, even though you just had horrible rashes all over your body?" asked Eri, staring in wonder at Kagome's flawless skin.

"Umm, yeah," replied the young miko, who sat down in her chair. The girls all crowded around her desk, beaming from ear to ear.

_This is going to be a long day_, thought Kagome as her friends began to recall everything that had happened over the past weeks.

* * *

"Bye, guys!" Kagome shouted as she parted ways with her three friends and walked down a road leading towards her house. She was still in the city, and there was a small park coming up on her left that she decided to stop by in.

After school, Kagome and her friends had decided to go out to eat, and she'd happily agreed. The last time she'd eaten out at a restaurant was probably nearly a year ago, and she felt she deserved it. _After all, I fight demons constantly in the Feudal Era...and I never have any good food._ The girls had an amazing time as they ate and gossiped about anything and everything, and Kagome realized just how much she really missed the modern era.

With their stomachs full and their spirits up, the girls had all parted ways in front of the restaurant. Kagome decided that she was probably going to go to school the next day, and the next..._Until Inuyasha comes to get me, but who knows how long it will be until then?_

Since Kagome wasn't in a rush, she walked through the park until she came upon her favorite place in it. _I haven't been here since I was little, _thought the miko as she sat down on a familiar bench and watched little kids playing on the playground that had once seemed huge, scary, and fun to her.

It was nearly sunset, and the sky was a beautiful reddish-purple color above the city. Kagome found herself staring at it as she listened to the playful and happy shouts drifting over to her from the children.

_The sunsets are even prettier in the Feudal Era_, she reluctantly found herself thinking. _I'll need to take more pictures of them the next time I go back._ She closed her eyes and leaned back, sighing. _Whenever that is..._

* * *

Kagome was jerked out of her thoughts when she noticed the voices from the playground were gone. Looking up, she noticed that the kids were all gone and the sky was nearly dark. _I must've drifted off..._she thought, standing up and stretching.

Realizing that her mother was probably wondering where she was, Kagome walked out of the park and back onto the roads. There were very few cars going up and down the streets now, and it was chilly with the absence of the sun.

Shivering, Kagome picked up her pace. She only had a few blocks to go until she reached her home...

"Hey! Stop!" shouted a man's voice from an alley she had just passed.

After jumping about two feet in the air with fright, Kagome decided to ignore the voice and keep walking. _Crap, I shouldn't have fallen asleep..._

"Hey! Come back!" the voice yelled again, but this time it was coming from behind her on the sidewalk.

Getting scared, Kagome broke out into a run. She could almost see the stairs leading up to the Higurashi shrine...

But then she was pushed from behind. Kagome's forearms slammed into the pavement at the same time her knees did, and she desperately tried to crawl away before a foot came down on her back, pushing her back onto the hard ground.

"Hey, girlie," said the same low, male voice, now close to her ear. "Why did you run? All I wanted was your money, but now I might..."

"What the _hell_ do you think you're doing?!" interrupted a pissed voice from several feet in front of the trapped miko.

Kagome's heart skipped a beat.

_Inuyasha..._

The miko lifted her head to see the familiar figure in a red kimono sprinting towards her, growling, from down the sidewalk. Just a moment later, the weight was lifted off her back as her attacker was thrown several feet in the air, landing hard in the middle of the street.

Kagome watched with relief as the man scrambled to his feet and ran away without looking back. She wondered idly whether he ran away because of Inuyasha's canine features, or if it had been because he had been knocked into the street...

Inuyasha, a growl still in his throat, walked slowly to the miko, who was half-sitting, half-lying on the pavement of the sidewalk.

Hesitantly, the hanyou sat down next to the girl. "Are you...okay?" he asked.

Kagome, who was still in shock from what had just happened to her, tried to smile but failed. Her smile came out more like a frown as she winced in pain from her arms. Looking down at them, she saw that they were bleeding from huge cuts that ran all along both forearms and her hands. Sighing, she took a look at her knees. They, too, were bleeding, though not as bad.

Inuyasha followed her eyes and frowned. "Damn it," he muttered, closing his eyes.

"Um, Inuyasha?" Kagome asked, finally finding her voice and realizing it was cracking. She hadn't even noticed it, but she'd started crying. Ignoring this, she continued talking, still staring at her knees. "Thank you."

When Inuyasha didn't answer, Kagome looked up at his face. His eyes were now open, and he was watching her with wary eyes. "Why did you leave?" he asked.

Kagome froze. She hadn't been expecting this question...actually, she hadn't really been expecting to see the hanyou so soon at all...

"I...I thought it would be best," she answered, never taking her eyes from Inuyasha's golden ones. Another wave of tears emerged from her eyes, and she looked away.

"Best for who?" asked Inuyasha. _He sounds almost...angry..._thought Kagome as she hurriedly wiped her tears away.

"F-for you...and me..."

Inuyasha didn't reply for a moment, so Kagome tried to stand up. Her bruised knees gave out, though, and she almost fell into the pavement again. Instead, she landed in Inuyasha's arms.

Sighing, the hanyou scooped the hopeless miko up into his arms and ran the short distance to the shrine, bolting up the numberous stairs leading there, and landing on Kagome's windowsill. He opened the window with one swift movement and placed the girl onto her bed.

After shutting the window, he took a seat beside her.

Kagome's tears had stopped because of her shock at what had just occurred, but she could feel them threatening to fall again as she looked away from the hanyou and at her bloody arms. She stood up again and walked over to where she had placed the contents of her backpack that had spilled. She grabbed the numerous bandages that were scattered across her room and sat back down on the bed, trying to wrap her wounds.

When she gasped and bit her tongue to keep from crying out because of the pain, Inuyasha grabbed the bandages from her hands. Kagome looked over at the hanyou, surprised, but he had already started carefully wrapping her hands, arms, and knees with the white cloth. "Thank you..." she whispered as soon as he was finished.

Inuyasha didn't speak for a few moments, but when he finally did, it was in a whisper. "How the _hell_ would you leaving be the best for me?" he asked softly and slowly, as if trying to contain his frustration.

"I j-just thought, with Kikyo...dying...that you would want to be left alone for a while."

Inuyasha sighed again. "Look at me, Kagome," he said. When the miko didn't comply, he gently grabbed her chin and turned her head so that she was forced to look into the hanyou's beautiful eyes. "I was so worried about you. When that damn Naraku knocked you unconscious, I thought you might never wake up." He removed his hand from her chin and instead carefully grabbed one of her bandaged hands, finally looking away from the miko and gazing at the wounded arm.

"I only went to find Kikyo's body so...so that I could stop myself from worrying so much. It didn't work." Subconsciously, his grip on Kagome's hand tightened. She let out a small whimper, and he immediately let go, looking back up at the girl's eyes. "I'm sorry, Kagome...I should've been able to protect you."

"You did," replied Kagome. "And besides, how could you have known that that man would..."

"No," said Inuyasha firmly, never looking away from the girl's chocolate brown eyes. "I should've protected you from Naraku. I...was too focused on what he told us...I'm sorry." He closed his eyes for a moment, and Kagome had to refrain from kissing him right there.

"Inuyasha, it's okay," she said, placing her bandaged hand on his cheek, causing his eyes to open in shock. "I'm okay. I mean, it was to be expected, right?"

The hanyou cocked his head in confusion. "What was?"

"That you would be upset about Kikyo's death," Kagome said softly to keep her voice from cracking. "You loved her, so it's only natural..." Her voice cracked anyway, so she turned away, embarassed.

The miko withdrew her hand, but was completely suprised when the hanyou grabbed it and pressed it gently between both of his. "You're wrong," said Inuyasha firmly. "I'll admit I was upset about Kikyo's death, but not because I _loved _her." He leaned closer to Kagome, causing her heart to beat faster. _What's he doing? _she thought as she subconsciously moved towards the man she loved so much.

"You silly girl..." he muttered as he leaned even closer, their faces now being only an inch apart. "I love--"

But the hanyou's words were interrupted by the door opening. The couple hurriedly sprang apart as a young boy walked in the room.

_Damn it,_ thought Inuyasha. _I just want to tell her how I feel...damn that Sota_.

"Kagome, Inuyasha!" exclaimed the girl's younger brother as he ran towards them. "I didn't know you were here! Kagome, mom was wondering where you were but I kept telling her you probably just went off with your friends, and...Kagome, what happened to your arms...and your legs?" His mouth was hanging open as he stared at his sister's wounds.

Kagome sighed, knowing a long explanation was coming. She stole a glance at the hanyou who was still sitting next to her, her hand still in between his. He was smiling at her, and she couldn't help but smile back. They would have a chance to finish their conversation later...

_I love you too, Inuyasha..._

* * *

**I'm not really sure if this came out the way I wanted it too, but I was satisfied. I just sorta started typing without entirely knowing what was gonna come out...and it was just allright for me. And...I don't have anything else to say.**

**I'll (hopefully) update again Saturday.**


	7. Sleepiness

**I don't own any aspect of Inuyasha.**

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**Pictures**

Chapter 7: Sleepiness

"Are you ready to go back now?" Inuyasha asked for the tenth time, sitting on Kagome's bed as she darted to and fro, trying not to forget anything important she might need in the Feudal Era.

"Yeah, yeah," replied the miko, who was hardly paying any attention to Inuyasha's nagging. _I know I'm forgetting something...what _is_ it?_

The hanyou smiled at Kagome's frustrated expression. She didn't notice, though, and continued pacing and running around the room until she gave up. "Okay, fine, I guess I'm ready," she said, collapsing on the bed next to Inuyasha and leaning back.

When the miko looked back up, Inuyasha was leaning over her and smirking. "What?" she asked.

"You wore yourself out already," he said, his smile widening when she rolled her eyes. "How are you supposed to survive in my era if you're already drained of energy now?"

Kagome playfully swatted at the hanyou as she sat up. He surprised her by catching her hand and keeping it in his, pulling her closer to his body.

The two had had absolutely no time alone in the past hours, which consisted of long explanations for Kagome's mom and grandpa, both of whom were extremely upset in hearing what had happened. They were, of course, very grateful to the hanyou who had sat next to Kagome while she was explaining everything, and also seemed to be less objective than usual when the miko told them that she had decided to return to the Feudal Era that same night. So then they had headed back up to her room to pack.

It was pitch black outside as Inuyasha's golden eyes melted Kagome's chocolate ones. They just sat there for a while, holding hands, until there came a knock on the door. At this, Kagome stood up and walked over to sit at her desk. "Come in," she called.

"Kagome?" Her mother walked into the room, pausing in the doorway. "I made some meals for you to bring to your friends." She handed her daughter the plastic boxes of warm food, and Kagome could smell the delicious aroma wafting towards her.

"Thanks, mom," said Kagome, and her mother started to exit, but turned back.

"Oh, and, I got those pictures printed that you wanted me to," the woman said, pulling an envelope out of her pocket and passing it on to her daughter.

As her mother left the room, Kagome opened the envelope and pulled out the pictures. "Oh, that's what I forgot!" she exclaimed, hopping up from her desk and walking over to her dresser. "My camera!" She opened a drawer and pulled out the silver object and some batteries, and then walked over and put them in her bag.

Inuyasha walked over to the girl and took the pictures from her hands. "These came out of your camera?" He looked puzzled as he examined the photographs.

"Yeah, um...it's kind of hard to explain," she said, watching his expression change as he looked at each of the pictures one by one. When, at last, he came to the last one, he stopped.

"This...this is the picture Miroku took?" he asked, looking up at Kagome.

She tentatively smiled and nodded. _Is he upset about it?_ she wondered, and her question was answered when he returned the smile. "He's one damn good picture-taker," Inuyasha said, looking back at the photo.

They were silent for a moment until Kagome spoke. "So, are you ready to leave now?" she asked, taking the pictures back and putting them into the envelope.

The hanyou nodded as she tucked the envelope into her backpack. _I should show these pictures to Miroku, Sango, and Shippo...they'll enjoy it,_ she thought as she headed out of her room and down the stairs.

After waving goodbye to her family, Kagome and Inuyasha headed out to the well. Looking at the ancient structure, the miko sighed. _The last time I came through this I was so upset,_ she thought as she tossed her huge yellow backpack down into it the abyss.

"What are you sighing for?" Inuyasha asked teasingly.

"The fact that I have to be stuck with you," she answered sarcastically, smiling.

"Oh, really?" asked the hanyou, suddenly smiling malevolently. He wrapped one arm around Kagome's knees and grabbed her shoulders with the other, swinging her up into his arms.

"I'm glad you're stuck with me," he whispered into her ear, and then he jumped down the well and they disappeared together.

* * *

The first thing Kagome noticed when they reappeared in the Feudal Era was the light coming from the hundreds of stars shining down on her and Inuyasha. Without even realizing it, she immediately relaxed as she looked at the unpolluted sky. _This place really is like a second home to me,_ thought the miko as Inuyasha helped her out of the well.

As the two began to walk towards the village, Kagome finally began to feel sleepy. It was nearing midnight, by the position of the moon in the black sky, and she had had an extremely tiring day. Inuyasha noticed this as the girl's walking became slower and her feet were dragging on the ground.

"You're tired, aren't you?" the hanyou asked as he stopped walking.

Kagome opened her mouth to answer but a yawn came out instead, so she just nodded. Inuyasha chuckled and picked her up again, swinging her backpack over his shoulder. He began to walk again, but the miko noticed that he wasn't heading towards the village anymore. Instead, he was heading into the trees...towards one tree in particular...

When the pair reached the Sacred Tree, Inuyasha sat down at it's base, leaning up against it, and placed Kagome in his lap. Puzzled, Kagome looked at the hanyou. "If we go back to the hut now, everyone will definitely ask you a billion questions," he explained in a whisper as he put the girl's backpack next to him on a root. "I think it's better if you just sleep. You've had a long day."

Kagome nodded and smiled, snuggling up closer to the hanyou she loved so much. "Thanks, Inuyasha," she murmured as her eyes became very heavy...

Inuyasha smiled and closed his eyes as well.

Within minutes, the two were asleep, wrapped in each other's arms.

* * *

"Aww, how sweet..."

_Sango?_

"Shh, don't wake them."

_Miroku?_

Kagome woke with a start. It took her a few seconds to remember where she was, and as soon as she did her face turned bright red. She was still on Inuyasha's lap, his arms wrapped around her waist, and Sango and Miroku were standing over them, smirking.

Sighing, Kagome looked at Inuyasha. He hadn't woken up yet, so she placed her hand on his cheek. "Inuyasha," she whispered in his ear, and his eyes jerked open.

He immediately hopped up, dumping Kagome on the ground. "Sorry!" he shouted as he realized what had just happened, and helped the girl up.

"That's okay," replied the miko as she rubbed her still wounded forearm, which she had just landed on. She winced in pain, but Inuyasha's expression made her laugh. He was glaring at Miroku, who, Kagome now realized, had a small silver box in his hand.

The monk's smirk grew even wider as he stared back at the pissed hanyou. "You perverted monk!" shouted Inuyasha. "You were spying on us!"

The hanyou then proceded to chase the monk--again--around the area. Kagome just laughed again and walked over to Sango, who was smiling at her friend. "Did you have a good night?" the demon slayer asked, glancing at Inuyasha.

Kagome nodded. "Inuyasha's being a lot nicer to me now," she said, looking down at the bandages the hanyou had wrapped on her wounds. "I like it." She smiled again and shifted her gaze over to Inuyasha.

Sango had followed Kagome's gaze to her arms, and her eyes narrowed in confusion. "Kagome, what..." she began to ask, but then she looked at the girl's expression and stopped. She looked extremely happy, and the demon slayer didn't want to make her explain anything at the moment.

Kagome watched her love chase around the lecher for a few minutes, laughing and smiling and wishing she could feel like this forever. _Maybe...maybe if I stay with Inuyasha I _can _be happy..._she thought.

_I'd be happy with him, no matter what..._

* * *

**Okay, so that one was a little bit shorter than usual, but oh well. Hmmm...I've got nothing else to say...**


	8. Boldness

**GodOfFlame101, I have not watched Inuyasha since probably November or early December...though I probably should, because I miss it so much!**

**KitKatAttack, this chapter is for you. It's gonna be another fluff chapter, much like the last one, except this one will have more of a point, if you know what I mean (last chapter was kinda pointless)...**

**I don't own Inuyasha. At all.**

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**Pictures**

Chapter 8: Boldness of Hanyous

"This looks exactly like me!" exclaimed Shippo. The kitsune was holding one of Kagome's pictures in his hand and gaping at it, amazed.

"That's because it _is_ you," Kagome said. "Well, sort of. It's really hard to explain to people who don't even know about electricity..." She shook her head and shrugged.

Miroku was flipping through the pictures of Sango, and every once in a while he would stop at one and tuck it away inside his kimono, thinking Kagome couldn't see. She did, however, but she didn't mind. _This is exactly why I told my mom to print two copies of each picture..._thought the miko, smiling at her friends.

They had all returned to Kaede's hut and ate lunch before Kagome remembered the envelope that was tucked away in her backpack. Her friends immediately grabbed the photographs and were completely fascinated with the paper.

"That's such a pretty sunset," breathed Sango. She was looking at the very first picture Kagome had taken in the Feudal Era.

Kagome smiled at her friend, but then had the feeling she was being watched. She looked up and met the gaze of Inuyasha, who was leaning against the wall of the hut opposite where Kagome was sitting. He was smiling, and when she looked at him his smile grew wider.

They stared at each other for a minute before Inuyasha pushed himself off of the wall and walked towards the door. "I'm gonna go for a walk," he announced to no one in particular, considering the attention of the rest of the group (save the miko) was on the pictures.

After the hanyou walked out of the hut, Kagome waited exactly twenty seconds before standing up as well. "I'm gonna go fetch some more...water..." said Kagome, knowing it was pointless.

"Okay," Sango muttered, waving her hand at the girl without even looking up.

Kagome laughed a little at her friends and then walked out of the hut. She headed down the familiar path to the Sacred Tree, knowing that Inuyasha would be there, waiting for her. As soon as she reached the small clearing around the tree, she stopped. No one was there.

Confused, the miko walked up to the tree's base.

"I hoped you would come," called a voice from above her, causing her to jump and the person in the tree to chuckle.

"Inuyasha!" she shouted, seeing the hanyou sitting in a branch of the big tree, smirking at her reaction. "You scared me!" She pouted and crossed her arms at Inuyasha, making him laugh again before hopping down to land gracefully next to the girl.

"Did I?" he asked, feigning innocence. "Sorry about that."

Kagome rolled her eyes at the hanyou, though she couldn't help but smile. "So, what did you want to talk to me about?" she asked, looking curiously into his gorgeous golden eyes.

"I want to tell you something," said Inuyasha, taking a step closer to the miko. He grabbed her hands and pulled her body even closer to his, so that her body was pressed against his muscular one.

The girl stopped breathing. _What is he doing?_ she wondered, unable to pull her gaze away from his molten one. Whatever ever it was, though, she decided that she liked it. Subconsciously, she began to move closer to the hanyou...

But then a familiar sound filled the couple's ears. Wind. Fast wind. And it was coming closer.

Sighing, Kagome placed her hand on Inuyasha's cheek and stared meaningfully into his eyes, hoping he understood the message she was trying to convey. The hanyou nodded, gently pushing the girl away from him.

"Damn that wolf..." muttered Inuyasha, fists clenched, as said demon appeared in the small clearing.

"Hiya, Kagome!" he shouted, immediately walking over to her.

Kagome glanced at Inuyasha, making sure he was staying put where he was, and then smiled. "Hi, Koga," she returned politely.

"I just wanted to check up on you, seeing as you're my woman and all," he announced, smirking, as he grabbed her hands.

"Koga..." Kagome started, praying he would listen to her for once. "I'm sorry, but I'm _not_ your woman." _I'm Inuyasha's..._she thought, hoping that it was true. "I'll never be more than friends with you."

Koga frowned for a moment but then his smirk returned, wider than ever. "That's what you say _now_," he started, and Kagome saw Inuyasha roll his eyes, "but wolves mate for life. I've chosen you as my woman, and you can't get out of it."

"Damn you!" shouted Inuyasha, pushing Koga away from Kagome. "Won't you just listen to her?" A low growl was emitting from his throat, and Koga looked completely taken aback. "She doesn't love you!"

Koga almost looked hurt for a moment before he shook it off, switching his gaze from the hanyou back to Kagome, who had been slowly shaking her head. _Stupid Inuyasha..._she thought. _Why can't you control yourself?_

"You'll get tired of this bastard eventually," said Koga, jabbing his thumb in the direction of Inuyasha. "And when you do, you know I'll be waiting."

"Um...thank you...Koga," Kagome replied awkwardly, glancing at Inuyasha. The hanyou had a small triumphant smile on his face, but he was still glaring at the wolf demon.

The trio stood there in silence for a moment, each of them expecting the others to move or talk. At last, Kagome cleared her throat. "So, Koga, did you come here to tell us something?" she asked, the question suddenly dawning on her. _He wouldn't normally travel this far just to annoy me_.

Koga's face immediately turned grave. "That bastard Naraku attacked again," he stated, his eyes glazed over as he seemed to be recalling what had happened in his memory. "What has been with that guy lately?"

"He killed Kikyo," Inuyasha said, and Kagome gently grabbed his arm. He shook his head, though, and continued. "The day after we..._ran into_...you, he just suddenly appeared and told us she was dead."

"Really?" Koga asked, sounding shocked. His eyes narrowed in either confusion or concentration--Kagome couldn't tell which. "Why the hell would he suddenly to decide to do that?"

"How am I supposed to know?" replied Inuyasha, shrugging.

"Well, besides that, why would he attack you twice in such a short amount of time?" said Kagome. The three of them stood there, perplexed, until two people entered the clearing.

"So this is where you guys went--Koga?" Kagome heard Sango ask as she walked towards them alongside Miroku.

"Naraku attacked the wolf demon tribe again," the miko explained to the confused two, whose brows immediately pulled together.

"That's very strange..." muttered the monk, narrowing his eyes in thought.

"He's certainly becoming more bold," said Sango, who had an expression on almost identical to the monk's.

Then, at the exact same time, Inuyasha and Koga suddenly became alert.

"_Damn_ it," swore Inuyasha, his ears twitching as his nose probed the air.

"What is it?" asked Kagome, tightening her hold on the hanyou's arm.

"Naraku..." muttered the wolf at the exact same time as Inuyasha.

"Where?" said Sango.

"The village," replied Inuyasha, turning to look at Kagome. She could see confusion as well as fear mixed in his eyes, and it transferred into her own body. _Shippo, Kaede..._she thought. _Please be safe_.

"Well, what are we waiting for, then?" yelled Koga at the couple, obviously frustrated.

The miko and the hanyou stared at each other for a moment before he nodded. "Let's go," he shouted, and the group sprinted towards the village.

When they reached the end of the forest, they all stopped at the top of the hill overlooking the forest, horror written across each one of their faces.

"Oh, no," muttered Kagome as she stared at the site in front of her.

A dark purpled cloud was engulfing the whole village, though she could still see clearly everything through the transluscent atmosphere. Every building in the peaceful town was burning, and the townspeople were running everywhere, trying to escape. It was to no avail, though, for Naraku had created a barrier surrounding the entire village, and no one could get through it.

_Except Kaede,_ thought Kagome as she looked at the barrier. _She must be unconscious..._

The young miko immediately snapped out of her shock and drew an arrow out of the quiver that was constantly on her back, pulling it back along the strings of her bow. With a _twang_, the arrow flew through the air and hit the purplish barrier, causing it to disperse.

The people who had been trapped all ran away, coughing, as Inuyasha and the others ran into the village, towards the loud sound of maniacal, familiar laughter...the sound that was emitting from one hut in particular, on the edge of the village closest to the ancient well...

_Oh, Kaede, Shippo...please be okay_, thought Kagome as she ran at top speed towards the old miko's home.

* * *

**Okay, so how was that? I've had major writer's block for the past few days (I'm completely surprised I even got this chapter out), so this one took me longer than normal. I was going to add something else at the end of this one but decided to put it in the next chapter...**

**Mwahahaha (that was my Naraku laughter), or I suppose it should be kukuku...**

**Review please!**


	9. Choke

**Hmmmmmmmmm...Happy early Easter!**

**Oh, and, I don't own Inuyasha.**

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**Pictures**

Chapter 9: Choke

Sango, Miroku, Kagome, and the two demons sped towards Kaede's hut on the edge of town, trying to ignore the miasma that was growing stronger around them. When they were about a hundred yards from the elderly miko's home, the purple cloudy substance around them grew thicker and thicker, until Kagome couldn't see any of the rest of her friends.

"Inuyasha!" she yelled as she stopped, turning in circles. _There's too much miasma! And I can't tell where the sacred jewel is coming from..._"INUYASHA!"

When there was no response, Kagome began to panic. _Oh, no..._she thought as she hopelessly stood still, unsure of what to do. Her vision was beginning to get a little blurry, and it was getting harder to breathe. The miasma was taking its toll on the young miko's human body...

Kagome rubbed her eyes, trying to clear her vision, and when she removed her hands, she gasped. Kaede's hut had appeared in front of her, with a purple bubble surrounding it. The air was cleared of all the miasma, and it was easier to breathe, but she now had a pounding headache.

Tentatively, the miko walked in the door of the hut, her bow clutched in one hand and an arrow in the other. The sight in front of her was horrible, and Kagome stifled a scream as she took it all in. Kaede was laying on the floor on the opposite side of the hut in a pool of blood, and Shippo was knocked unconscious, leaning against the wall near the elderly miko.

Ignoring the fact that Naraku had to be somewhere close, Kagome ran to Kaede and kneeled down next to the woman. "Kaede..." she muttered, tossing her bow and arrow aside, so that they landed somewhere near Shippo. "Please...be alive..."

After the young miko checked for Kaede's pulse and identified that she was, in fact, living, she breathed a quick sigh of relief and frantically searched for the source of the bloodflow. It was coming from the back of the woman's head, and Kagome tore a piece of the elder's kimono off to wrap around the wound.

She then moved on to Shippo, but found that he was just knocked unconscious. "Thank goodness," Kagome murmured as she hugged the kitsune's small body.

"How pathetic," said a calm voice from behind Kagome.

The miko spun around to face the evil hanyou, who was standing beside Kaede's body, smirking at her unconscious form. "Naraku..." Kagome whispered, trying to contain her anger. "What are you doing here?"

"Kukuku," laughed the evil man as he shifted his gaze to the girl. "Now I suppose it wouldn't hurt to answer that question...Kagome, I am here to take your jewel shards. That was a quite obvious answer, wasn't it?"

"But why did you have to hurt Kaede and Shippo!?" Kagome shouted, feeling tears form in her eyes. "You bastard...they were totally defenseless."

"And you honestly think I care about that? I just had to find a way of getting your friends separated from you, and luring everyone here and then trapping them in my miasma seemed like the perfect way to do so." Naraku's smirk spread to an evil grin when he saw Kagome's eyes narrow in anger and confusion. _Why would Naraku choose now to attack? He's never _this_ random..._

"At this very moment, your precious Inuyasha is probably being killed by an illusion, and your other friends will be destroyed by my miasma," continued Naraku. He chuckled as she dove for her bow and quiver of arrows, drawing one on the string. "Kukuku, what are you going to do with that? Hit me?"

"Bastard...if I kill you, then my friends won't have to die..." Kagome drew the arrow back even further, pointing it directly at the evil half demon.

* * *

Inuyasha stopped running towards Kaede's hut as the miasma around him grew thicker and thicker.

"Damn it," he muttered, coughing into the sleeve of his kimono. "Kagome!" There was no response. "KAGOME!"

When there was, still, no response from the miko, Inuyasha started running blindly forward again in hopes of reaching the hut. _Where the hell am I?_

The hanyou stops running suddenly as a familiar figure in white and red robes appears in front of him.

"Ki-Kikyo?" he whispered, taking a step closer to the frowning woman. "But...you're dead..."

"Obviously, I'm not," Kikyo replied coldly, fingering the long bow on her back.

"Naraku said he killed you," stated Inuyasha, narrowing his eyes at the miko. _This is just an illusion..._he thought, gripping Tetsusaiga.

Kikyo smiled as she saw the hanyou's movement. "Are you going to kill me, Inuyasha?" she asked sarcastically, removing her hand from her bow and letting it fall by her side. "Go ahead; I'm defenseless."

Inuyasha shook his head. "I don't need to kill you. You're already dead." He pulled out Tetsusaiga and gripped it tightly between his hands. "Naraku, you ain't gonna fool me with this pathetic illusion!" he shouted, turning to aim away from where Kikyo was standing, now frowning.

"Inuyasha..." she muttered, crossing her arms. "Do you really think I'm an illusion? Or do you just not care about me--"

"Oh, shut up!" he shouted, not even looking at the miko. "I know you're dead because I _saw_ your grave. I searched for your body so I could bring it back to the village and let Kaede bury you, but some monk had already beat me to it. So stop trying to convince me that you're Kikyo!"

"Inu--" Kikyo started again, but Inuyasha cut her off once again.

"WIND SCAR!" he shouted as the Tetsusaiga glowed bright red. The flashes of yellow light pierced through the purple cloud miasma, revealing Kaede's hut about a fifty yards from where the hanyou was standing.

Inuyasha heard a high-pitched scream come from the hut, causing his heart to sink.

_Kagome..._

The hanyou sprinted as fast as he could to the hut, silently cursing.

* * *

Miroku, Sango, Kilala, and Koga had almost reached Kaede's hut when Miroku collapsed on the ground, coughing from the thick purple miasma.

Sango, who had previously put on her demon slayer's mask, immediately stopped running. "Miroku!" she shouted, worried, as she knelt down beside her fiance.

"Sango...I'm going...to put up a...barrier," he said between coughs, covering his mouth with his sleeve in a vain attempt to stop the miasma from getting into his lungs. _Damn that Naraku...I've never been in this strong of a miasma before...he must really want us to stay away from Kaede's hut..._

"No, that's a bad idea," said Koga, who had been watching the two. "It'll take too much of your energy, monk." He turned and strained his eyes, trying to see through the endless purple. When that failed, he pointed his nose in the air and took a whiff of the miasma, coughing but smiling triumphantly. "I can still catch Naraku's scent. It's faint, but I'll be able to follow it."

The wolf demon turned back to the couple, frowning. "You too go back with the other villagers; you'll just end up getting hurt by Naraku in your condition, monk. Woman, get him to safety, and I'll go after Naraku."

Sango swallowed the retort that came to her throat at being called 'woman' and just nodded. She knew that Miroku wouldn't last very much longer in the miasma, and if they did end up meeting with Naraku he would probably open his wind tunnel, which wouldn't be good for anyone...

"Kilala, let's go," the demon slayer said to her feline friend, who was now a very large cat, ready to fly away.

As Koga disappeared into the thick purple mess, Sango heaved Miroku onto Kilala's back and they flew upwards and out of the miasma.

* * *

Kagome stood, poised, ready to shoot Naraku right through the head. _This time I'll kill him_, she assured herself as she glared at her enemy through narrowed eyes.

Naraku laughed and suddenly disappeared, catching Kagome off guard.

_Where did he go?_ She frantically whipped her head around, trying to pinpoint Naraku's location by the presence of the sacred jewel, but it was impossible. She could sense it coming from everywhere.

"You're pathetic," said Naraku's voice from right behind Kagome. She only had time to scream before two pale, cold hands grasped her neck, making breathing impossible for the miko.

Gasping, Kagome swung her arms in a desperate attempt to hit Naraku. The man responded by lifting her into the air by her neck, causing a pained whine to escape from the girl's throat.

Naraku laughed, but he stopped immediately when a pissed figure in a red kimono came bursting into the hut, screaming, "Kagome!"

The last thing Kagome saw was fear on her beloved hanyou's face before she blacked out, going completely limp in Naraku's grasp.

* * *

**Oh, man, another cliffhanger...well, I wasn't really intending there to be another cliffhanger at the end of this chapter, but it just kinda worked out that way...hmmmm...oh well.**

**There's a very slight chance I'll update tomorrow, just because it's the weekend and holidays always put me in a good mood, but I wouldn't count on it.**

**Happy Easter, everyone!!**


	10. Goodbye

**Well, Happy Easter everyone! My family is having an egg decorating contest, and I am probably the worst artist in the world, so I will now go humiliate myself...**

**Rumiko Takahashi owns Inuyasha. Not me. At all.**

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**Pictures**

Chapter 10: Goodbye

_Where am I?_

"Kagome!"

_That voice...is it...Inuyasha?_

"Wake up, Kagome!"

The miko slowly opened her eyelids, blinking a few times for her eyes to adjust. As soon as they did, she saw bright golden ones staring right back at her.

The eyes disappeared within seconds as the hanyou hugged Kagome. "Inuyasha..." she muttered, surprised.

Inuyasha released Kagome but kept his arm across her back, to help her sit up. Looking around the room, the miko saw Koga, Miroku, and Sango sitting opposite her with the demon slayer stroking the feline in her lap.

"Thank goodness you're all right, Kagome," said the woman, beaming at her friend. The smile was full of sorrow, though, and Kagome could tell that the entire hut was engulfed in sadness. She tried to smile back, but her smile quickly faded as she looked at Miroku.

The monk was coughing into his sleeve. When he stopped, Kagome saw that his face was extremely pale and his eyes were sort of unfocused. "Miroku...are you okay?" she asked.

Miroku looked up at the miko and smiled. "Of course, Kagome," he replied. "I just...inhaled a little too much of the miasma...but I'm perfectly fine now." His smile went away as he coughed into his sleeve again.

The miko looked away, upset about seeing her friend in pain. Her eyes immediately fell on two figures that lay, unconscious, side-by-side on the floor of the hut to her left. _That's right,_ she thought, recalling what had happened, _I came into the hut and...Kaede and Shippo were hurt, and then Naraku was there and he choked me..._

Kagome's hands subconsciously flew to her neck as she remember what happened to her, and she winced as she felt bruises there.

"Wh-what happened after I blacked out?" she asked Inuyasha, looking up into his eyes to see them full of sadness, like Sango's smile.

The hanyou sighed as he gazed into the girl's chocolate brown eyes. Instead of answering, he just shook his head, clearly upset.

After a moment, Koga decided to speak instead. "That bastard Naraku tried to choke you to death," he said through clenched teeth as he closed his eyes, obviously trying to contain his anger. "But then the mutt came in and stopped him before you died." He opened his eyes and looked straight into Kagome's with an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, Kagome. I would've saved you myself if I had gotten there sooner, but unfortunately the flea-bag over there beat me to it."

"Um, that's okay...Koga..." Kagome replied awkwardly, tearing her gaze away from the wolf's. Her eyes strayed, again, to the two unconscious forms near her, and, shuddering, she looked back up at Inuyasha.

"Will they be okay?" she whispered, trying to keep her voice from cracking.

Inuyasha nodded. "They're fine," he answered sternly. "That idiot Shippo was just knocked unconscious...though he probably fainted...and old Kaede has a wound in the back of her head, but you stopped the bleeding, so she'll be okay."

Kagome smiled at the hanyou, relieved. _I'm so glad...I was worried about them..._she thought. She continued to stare into Inuyasha's soft, golden eyes until Koga cleared his throat and stood up.

"Well, I guess we should be going, mutt," he stated. Kagome looked over at the wolf demon, confused.

Koga looked expectantly at Inuyasha, who sighed again. He removed his arm from Kagome's back and stood up, refusing to look at the miko.

The hanyou turned and walked towards the door of the hut. "Koga and I are going to go after Naraku while we're still able to follow his scent," he said over his shoulder, ignoring the many pairs of eyes that were all on him.

Koga followed Inuyasha and, without waiting for a goodbye from anyone, they both walked out the door of the hut.

Kagome just stared at the spot where Inuyasha had once stood until she finally broke from the state of shock she was in shook her head. Pushing her pain aside, she stood up and ran to the door.

"Inuyasha!" she shouted to the demon who was walking away from the hut. He stopped walking but didn't turn around. "Wait!" she yelled pitifully, for her voice cracked and she could feel tears streaming down her cheeks.

Kagome started walking towards the two demons. Koga, who had kept walking, turned to Inuyasha and muttered something before sprinting off in a huge whirlwind of dust and air.

When the miko reached the hanyou, he turned around and looked into her eyes. Kagome had to bite her tongue to keep from crying out at the sorrowful expression in her love's eyes. "Take me with you," she said softly but firmly, never breaking contact with his eyes.

Inuyasha sighed and shook his head. "This is why I should've left before you woke up..." he muttered to himself before raising his voice to answer the girl. "Kagome, you're hurt. You were almost killed just now. There's no way in _hell_ that I'm going to let you come with us. We can handle Naraku on our own now; we managed to injure him before he ran off a while ago."

Kagome wiped the tears from her eyes, looking down and noticing that Inuyasha's hands were clenched tightly into fists. _He must be really determined...or scared...I can't tell which_, she thought as she looked back up at the hanyou.

She opened her mouth to protest, but Inuyasha spoke before she could. "Kagome, I'm _not_ taking you with me," he said with finality. His golden eyes melted Kagome's brown ones as he glared at her. "I don't want you to get hurt, and...I don't...trust myself to protect you...much less that _wolf_." The last word came out as a growl, but Kagome ignored it.

Inuyasha dropped his voice to a whisper as he grabbed one of Kagome's hands, causing her to gasp. "You're strong, I know that. And I know you could help us, but I'm not taking that risk. So just stay here and protect everyone else for me, okay?" he asked, his eyes softening as he saw the defeat in Kagome's.

She sighed and nodded, but what Inuyasha did next surprised them both.

The hanyou cupped Kagome's chin with one of his hands, the other one still trapping her own, and lifted her face up. He then leaned down and pressed his lips to hers, taking the girl completely by surprise. It took Kagome a moment before she began to kiss him back, but as soon as she did, he pulled away.

"I love you, Kagome," Inuyasha whispered.

The miko stared at the hanyou for a moment in complete amazement before she shook it off and replied. "I love you, too," she muttered, feeling tears coming again.

Inuyasha stared into Kagome's eyes for one more long moment before he released her face and hands and turned and ran away, following Koga.

Kagome just stood there, staring after him, for a few minutes as the sky began to get dark around her.

"Please, be safe..." she whispered so quietly that she couldn't here herself over the soft breeze blowing through the village that was now completely free of purple.

_Inuyasha, you idiot, you'd better come back to me. I don't know what I'd do without you..._

And then the miko turned and walked back into the hut where her dejected friends waited, completely unaware of the huge turn Kagome's life had just taken. _Great_, she thought, _I finally tell Inuyasha that i love him and then he runs off to fight..._

* * *

**Well, that one was a bit shorter than I had expected...but oh, well. This was definitely my fastest update yet. Yay!**

**My Easter egg turned out better than I thought, so I was pretty excited, but I didn't win...hey, at least I got another chapter up!**

**Please review!!**


	11. Complete

**This one took a while for me to write because I wasn't really sure exactly what i wanted to happen...but I'm extremely happy. Why, you ask? Here's the answer: I finally reached 50 reviews! YAY!**

**I would like to take this chance to thank every single one of my reviewers (literally) and here they are, in order of first reviewer to latest:**

**GodOfFlame101, inuaiko, MadeNew, Have Socks. Will Travel, KitKatAttack, Fire - Wolves, syfo, fluffyluver666, LolliBear06, rageoffire, SoNiia95, WindSorceress123, AngerManagementIssues, Samurai Fish, Lunamoon12, amori kuwabara, LolILoveInuYAsha, ChristinaAngel, H3110-KiTtY, Diamond369, inukag.lover19, October Addums, and sesshylovr.**

**You guys are so amazing. I probably wouldn't have had any encouragement (or reason) to keep going with the story if not for all of your wonderful reviews! Keep it up!**

**Okay, mushy moment over with, now onto the story!**

**Once again, I don't own Inuyasha.**

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**Pictures**

Chapter 11: Complete

Kagome was distraught. The first few hours of sitting in the hut with Miroku and Sango were extremely quiet, save for the monk's constant coughing.

When the miko couldn't stand the tense atmosphere--or the constant hacking--anymore, she stood up, startling the other two. "I'll go get you some water, Miroku," she said, suddenly surprised that no one had gotten him any before.

The real reason behind her leave was that Kagome had to escape. She felt utterly helpless in the fact that she could be helping Inuyasha, but instead she was just sitting around waiting for him to come back--_if_ he came back. _No,_ Kagome's conscience yelled, _I can't think that way. He _will_ return...him and Koga...they'll both be okay._

_I'm so pitiful, _she thought as she walked in the general direction of the stream running by Kaede's house, unaware that she was barely even moving at all. _I should have insisted on going with Inuyasha, but he...he _distracted _me by kissing me instead..._

Kagome shook her head sadly and sank to the her knees as she reached the creek, though she didn't even noticed where she was. The miko buried her face in her hands as tears spilled from her sorrow-filled eyes and fell onto the dirty ground beneath her. The village was completely dark around Kagome as she sat and wept for an immeasurable amount of time. She was only vaguely aware of the other noises in the night around her: the crickets chirping in the grass around the stream, the breeze blowing the leaves on the green trees--she couldn't focus on anything but the pain she felt as a result of the absence of her biggest lifeline.

"Inuyasha..." she muttered, feeling her heart clench painfully as she saw his gorgeous face in her mind. "Inu..."

Kagome jumped as she felt a hand on her shoulder. Spinning quickly around, the girl saw Sango sit down next to her, holding a plastic water bottle in her hands. The demon slayer wore a warm smile as she untwisted the cap of the bottle and dipped it in the clear stream.

The miko watched wordlessly as her friend retrieved the water, causing a ripple to break the mirror image of the moon and stars that were reflected from the black sky. Kagome opened her mouth to speak when she was done, but Sango beat her to it, grabbing the girl's hand. "Kagome, you know that Inuyasha will be safe," she said softly, seeing the blank look in the girl's usually bright and cheerful eyes. "He's never really lost a battle before, and he's definitely the strongest demon I've met..."

Kagome smiled at the demon slayer next to her, knowing that Sango was attempting to make her feel better but at the same time wishing that she wouldn't. "Sango...do you think that it'll be allright...if I go back to my time for the night?" she asked, immediately feeling guilty that she would leave her friends when she might be needed, but knowing that she wouldn't be able to stand being in the hut that constantly reminded her of a certain hanyou.

Sango nodded with undertanding. "Of course," she replied, giving Kagome's hand a quick squeeze before helping her up and releasing her hand. "Take as long as you need, and we'll tell Inuyasha where you are when he returns."

Kagome smiled apologetically again and gave the demon slayer a quick hug before turning and walking to the ancient well. _I'm sorry Sango, Miroku, but I can't handle just...waiting...for Inuyasha to come back_.

So as the young miko walked slowly down the path to the Bone Eater's Well, she distracted herself by trying to remember what day of the week it was. It had only been the previous night that she had returned to the Feudal Era after being, for lack of a better word, _attacked_ by that stranger on the street, though Kagome felt like it had been much longer than that. It had been Monday when Kagome had gone to school and had the...eventful walk home, so it was now Tuesday (and would soon be Wednesday), she concluded as she stared at the sky.

"That means that I can go to school tomorrow," she muttered to herself, a bittersweet emotion running through her. School would distract her immensely, that she knew, but it was also depressing in itself. She never understood anything that was going on in her classes, considering everything that she had missed over the past year or so, but at least she was going to get to see her friends twice in such a short period of time.

So Kagome jumped down the well and climbed out on the other side, already feeling a huge amount of relief as she stared at the bright lights in her house. Everyone was still awake when she walked into the home, though Sota was about to go to bed, but they all stopped what they were doing when they noticed the mood Kagome was in.

She tried so very hard to just smile and converse pleasantly with her family while eating some left-overs from dinner that evening, but it was barely working. When she was about to break down again, Kagome excused herself and went up to her room so her family couldn't see her tears, and cried herself to sleep, hoping that her friends would at least be able to cheer her up...

* * *

Eri, Yuki, and Ayumi were, indeed, excited to see their friend after she had only been 'sick' for a single day with severe chicken pox, but they didn't cling to Kagome as much as they normally did on the days she was back. This probably had something to do with the fact that the girl wasn't talking nearly as much in school, didn't smile once, and just stared off into space for the whole day without any noticeable expression on her face.

The girls just ignored it at first, but had decided by the end of the day to just walk in silence with Kagome because of her lack of any contribution to the conversations her friends tried to make with her.

After walking around the city aimlessly for a while without Kagome speaking one word to any of the girls, Eri finally decided to say something. "Kagome, what's wrong?" she asked bluntly, recieving an elbow in her side from Ayumi.

Kagome turned to her friend, shocked, and plastered a big smile on her face. "Nothing's wrong," she said as they turned down a relatively empty street, walking slowly down the sidewalk.

"Yeah, right," Eri replied, grabbing Kagome's shoulder and forcing her to stop walking and face her friend. "You've been acting really depressed all day today. What's up?"

Kagome just shook her head and allowed her fake smile to falter a bit. "I'm just...stressed about school," she replied, hoping her friends bought the lie. "It's really confusing because of all the days I've missed."

Ayumi stepped up and smiled genuinely at her friend. "It'll be okay," she said reassuringly. "Plus, you already passed your high school entrance exam, so the rest of the year shouldn't matter too much!" Eri and Yuki both nodded in agreement.

Kagome breathed a silent sigh of relief that her friends didn't press her any further and continued walking, her friends following closely behind and chatting happily.

Despite everything that she was feeling at the moment, Kagome couldn't help but feel content. Her friends were her friends, no matter what was going on in the Feudal Era--she knew that for sure. And, though she might not be able to confide in them about, well, anything that really went on in her real life, they would always be able to cheer her up.

* * *

Kagome returned home that evening, well before dark this time, half-expecting to find Inuyasha waiting for her. When he wasn't there, though, the girl pushed the thought of him out of her mind and decided to hang out with her family instead.

For once, Kagome actually played Sota's video games with him, discussed various priestly duties with her grandfather, and helped her mother prepare and serve dinner while they talked about the latest gossip and news. The whole household was in a good mood, and Kagome was able to temporarily escape from the fear and guilt she had felt constantly brewing in her the whole day.

Her family chatted and ate dinner peacefully, and Kagome found herself laughing more than she had in a long time. _I never really realized how much I miss my family while I'm in the Feudal Era,_ Kagome thought as she let her eyes sweep around the dinner table at each of her family members. _I love them so much._

After dinner, Kagome helped her mother clear the table and wash the dishes, humming a random melody as they did so.

"Kagome, you seem to be really happy," her mother observed while she toweled off Sota's plate.

Kagome nodded. "Mmhmm," she replied as she placed the plate in the cupboard and started washing another one. "I'm just glad I get to be back with you guys again."

Her mother sighed and halted her washing to gaze suspiciously at her daughter. "Yes, but...Kagome, _why_ are you back with us again?" she asked. "I mean, you're usually gone for weeks or even months at a time, but it was only one day this time..."

Kagome looked over at the woman, silently cursing her for being so observant. "I just decided that it would be nice to spend some time with you," she muttered, wishing her mom would just drop it.

Her mother was persistent, though, and was about to ask Kagome another question when someone bursted into the room. "Sis, Inuyasha's here!" Sota shouted as he ran over to the two women.

_What?_ Kagome wondered, though she couldn't help but feel extremely relieved when the familiar silver-haired hanyou walked into the kitchen. _Why...?_

"Inuyasha..." she murmured, dropping the plate she had been working on cleaning into the sink, making a loud clattering noise. No one noticed, though, for their attention was drawn to the angry expression on the hanyou's face.

"Can I talk to you?" he asked through clenched teeth, obviously trying not to yell. "_Alone?_"

Kagome took the hint and lead the hanyou up into her room. For a moment neither of them talked, though the miko couldn't stop herself from smiling at Inuyasha. She didn't care what emotion was clearly being expressed on his face--just the fact that his face was _there_ in front of her, unharmed, was enough to make her happy.

"I can't believe you would come back here," Inuyasha said, standing next to the closed door as he watched the girl sit down on her bed. "You...couldn't even wait for me with Sango and Miroku? What if they had been attacked?"

Kagome's cringed slightly at these words, knowing he was right, but opened her mouth to defend herself. "Inuyasha...I...couldn't bear to be back there when I wasn't even sure whether you would return or not," she whispered, her words barely even audible to her own ears. "I know I should've stayed, but...I just couldn't. I'm sorry," she mumbled pathetically.

Inuyasha sighed and sat down next to Kagome. "I was stupid to just leave like that," he admitted, looking down at his hands.

"Speaking of which--what happened?" asked Kagome, carefully watching his expression.

Inuyasha looked up into Kagome's dark chocolate ones and grinned triumphantly before quickly kissing her on the lips.

"Naraku's dead," he said simply after pulling away from the stunned girl.

"_What?!_" Kagome squealed, her mouth hanging open. "_How?_"

"That mangy wolf turned out to be useful after all..." Inuyasha muttered as the silly grin was still spread across his face. He laughed a little before diving into an explanation of what had happened in the past day. "We caught up with Naraku before he could get far, and...we fought. Sesshomaru must have caught on Naraku's scent, because he and Kohaku showed up to help. Naraku was completely defenseless with all of us attacking him at once, and, well, we won."

Kagome was still gaping at the hanyou, so he chuckled and put a finger on her jaw, closing her mouth for her. She giggled a little as she broke from the shock, but it was still hard to believe what she was hearing.

Inuyasha watched her delighted expression until he suddenly remembered something and reached into his kimono. He pulled something out, keeping his fist closed while he offered it to Kagome. Her brows came together in confusion, and Inuyasha smiled.

"This is yours now," he said, opening his hand.

Kagome gasped at that nearly complete Sacred Jewel on Inuyasha's palm, now knowing for sure that Naraku had to be dead. She stared at the thing they had spent the past year searching for, praying that this all wasn't just a dream. She tentatively pulled her own collection of shards out of the bottle that was hidden on a necklace under her shirt and placed them in her own palm.

"What about Koga's shards?" Kagome asked, looking up at Inuyasha again.

The hanyou laughed. "That idiot finally decided to give them up to me when I pounded him for the billionth time," he said, smiling. "Go ahead, take it." He pushed the jewel closer to Kagome, and she hesitantly grabbed the small orb.

As soon as she had both the Sacred Jewel and the remaining shards in her hand, a bright purple light filled the room. Kagome and Inuyasha both looked away for a moment, shielding their eyes, until the light died down and they took a look at the _complete _jewel now laying in Kagome's palm.

Kagome looked up at Inuyasha, tears in her eyes. "It's finally over..." she whispered through unmoving lips as she stared into the hanyou's golden eyes.

He smirked at the girl and cupped her cheek in one of his hands. "Don't think that means you're getting rid of me," he teased her, wrapping his other arm around her waist as he pulled her into another kiss.

Kagome wrapped her arms around his neck and deepened the kiss, still clutching the Sacred Jewel tightly in one of her fists. "I love you," she whispered as soon as they pulled away, Kagome now having a few tears trickling down her cheeks.

Inuyasha laughed as he wiped the tears from her cheek. "I love you, Kagome," he replied, kissing her again.

* * *

**Okay, people, it's not over yet (sigh), so don't freak out! (That would be one crappy ending...)**** I still have some more stuff (conflicts...hehehehe...) to write about, but I just thought I'd go ahead and **_**start**_** to wrap it up now. This chapter was really rushed, I know, and I apologize. But at least I finished it tonight so I get to put it up already!**

**I'm kinda in a bad mood, though, because i just CAN'T beat One (by Metallica) on hard on Guitar Hero. It's pissing me off.**

**Good night everyone. Review, please!**


	12. Demons

**I'm in a good mood because I just watched one of my favorite episodes of Inuyasha (126 - Transform Heartache Into Courage) and it always makes me so happy. Aaaaaand...I BEAT ONE (guitar hero) and now my fingers hurt!! Yay! My life is complete (who cares about expert...hard is hard enough, hence the name), though I'm just angry that my brother beat me to it. But oh well.**

**Allright then. Chapter 12.**

**I do not own Inuyasha.**

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**Pictures**

Chapter 12: Demons

"I'm so glad it's finally over," Kagome muttered as she sat on her bed, leaning her head back against the muscular chest of the hanyou sitting behind her.

Inuyasha, who had been stroking her hair absentmindedly, frowned and dropped his arm to his side. Kagome noticed this and twisted in his lap, turning to look in his distracted golden eyes. "What's wrong?" she asked.

Inuyasha, hearing the concern in her voice, shook his head and smiled. "It's nothing," he muttered, glancing away. Now Kagome knew something was wrong.

"Please," she whispered. "You know you can tell me anything." She placed her palm carefully on his cheek until he sighed and turned back to face her.

"It's just...I mean...are you still going to come see us anymore?" he asked, his ears drooping as he said this. Kagome frowned in confusion. "The Jewel's complete now, so you don't have a reason to come back and visit us." As soon as he clarified what he meant, Kagome's eyes widened.

"Of course I'll come back to visit you guys!" she shouted, surprised that Inuyasha would even have to ask. She smiled before lowering her voice. "Inuyasha..._you_ are my reason to come back."

Inuyasha's eyebrows raised slightly at this before he hugged the girl tightly, knocking the breath out of her. But she didn't care at all. She hugged him back, wishing that he would never let go of her--that she wouldn't have to worry about anything.

Her wish immediately faded as a knock came on the door. Immediately the couple sprang apart so that Kagome was sitting next to Inuyasha as the girl's mother walked into the room. "I was worried about you," she said as she stood awkwardly in the doorway, seeing the blushes on the faces of the other two. "You've been up here so long and Inuyasha was upset when he came in..."

Kagome smiled. "We're fine," she said, glancing at the hanyou before turning back to her mother. "Hey, mom? I think I'm gonna head back there tomorrow morning."

The woman just nodded, smiling, before she left the room, closing the door behind her.

"Did you tell Sango and the others about Naraku?" Kagome asked, turning back to Inuyasha.

He shook his head and replied, "Koga said he would tell them." Inuyasha smirked slightly. "He seems to be in a much better mood now that Naraku's dead."

Kagome smiled. _I'll never get used to hearing that sentence..._she thought. _Naraku's dead...finally..._

It seemed like there were a lot of things that were 'finally' happening to her. The obvious was that Naraku was finally dead, the Sacred Jewel was finally complete and was safe with her, she and Inuyasha had _finally_ kissed...

At that last thought, the miko's smile grew even wider, causing a confused Inuyasha to cock his head to the side. "What is it?" he asked the girl who was smiling at him with absolute happiness written across her face.

"Oh, nothing," she said in a cheery voice as she continued to smile brightly at her love.

The boy, however, was completely lost. He scratched his head. "Whatever," he muttered, shaking his head to admit defeat. Kagome's eyes drifted to the hanyou's dog ears, and her smile faded.

"Inuyasha," she started, but she was scared to ask the question that was on her mind.

"What?" he asked.

Kagome sighed and turned away from him. "What are you going to do with the Sacred Jewel...now that it's complete?"

She could hear Inuyasha's breath catch. He had been waiting for this question, and she knew it. Kagome looked down at her hands, bracing herself for his answer. But an answer didn't come.

After a few seconds of silence, Kagome turned to look at Inuyasha. He was staring right at her, his eyes narrowed as if he was contemplating. As soon as she turned, though, his eyes relaxed and he shook his head again. "Kagome...I already have what I want." She opened her mouth to ask what he meant, but he answered before she could--by pressing his lips against hers again.

When he pulled away just a few seconds later, Kagome couldn't help but smile. "Good," she replied, breathing an inward sigh of relief. Her smile quickly went away though as she thought. "Are you sure?" she asked, glancing over at the tiny purple ball that lay on her desk across the room. "I mean...you started collecting the shards only so you could become full demon...are you sure you want to throw that away?"

Inuyasha didn't have to even think about it this time. "I don't know...what would happen if I became a full demon," he answered, his eyes glazing over as he remembered all the many times he had transformed into a full demon and nearly harmed his friends. "I wouldn't want to take that chance...especially if I might hurt you."

Kagome considered this a moment before moving on to her next question. "What should I do with it?" she asked.

Inuyasha shrugged, and the miko sighed. _We finally get the Sacred Jewel whole again, and now I have no idea what to do with it..._

"We should ask Kaede about it," Kagome decided. Her heart cringed painfully as she remembered the last time she had seen the elderly priestess. The woman had been unconscious and wounded..."Inuyasha," she started, turning back to the hanyou, "we should go back now. I need to see if Shippo and Kaede are all right."

Inuyasha nodded, and the two of them stood up. On the way down to the well, Kagome began to get anxious. Shippo and Kaede had just been unconscious, and were probably perfectly okay, but...what if something had happened while she was gone? Kaede's head had been bleeding pretty badly, and she was old. Kagome would never forgive herself if they were hurt...

Kagome watched Inuyasha jump down into the mystical well and sighed. _They'll be fine_, she reassured herself. Despite that, she clutched the small orb that had caused so much pain already tighter in her fist before swallowing hard and following the hanyou back to the past.

* * *

Kagome could tell something was wrong as soon as Inuyasha pulled her up out of the well. And it wasn't just the fact that the hanyou was growling loudly beside her. She could just _sense_ that something wasn't right...

"Inuyasha," she said, causing his narrowed eyes to temporarily focus on her. "What's wrong?"

Inuyasha went back to scanning the area with his eyes before he replied. "It smells like demon..." he said, more to himself than to Kagome. "I _know_ I recognize those smells..."

"Those _smells_?" Kagome asked. "You mean there's more than one of them?" She stopped for a second and gasped when she thought of something. "But it's not..." Kagome started, afraid to finish her question.

Inuyasha knew who she was talking about, though, and he immediately shook his head. "No. Naraku's dead," he said firmly without turning to look at her again. "It's...I think...there's a bunch of different demons." He looked extremely confused as his eyes continued to roam around the dark forest surrounding them. "What the _hell_?" he muttered.

Kagome was beginning to get anxious again, so she scooted closer to the hanyou. Inuyasha jumped slightly as she slipped her fingers through his. He turned to face the girl, but she was still looking around at the dark trees, fear and confusion plainly written across her face.

He squeezed her hand lightly, feeling her fingers relax slightly. "It's allright," he said. "They aren't anywhere near us...a few miles away, at least."

Kagome nodded and shifted her gaze slowly back to Inuyasha's. "Are you sure?" she asked, glancing quickly at the black trees before looking back at him.

Inuyasha nodded and started to walk. "Let's go see the others," he offered, keeping her hand in his as they walked down the familiar path back to the village. Kagome was slightly comforted by his confidence, but at the same time she knew that this incident wouldn't just pass.

_What are those demons doing here?_ she thought as they walked. _Are they...after the Sacred Jewel?_ Without even realizing it, she squeezed the sphere that was in her fist again, as if to assure herself that it was still there. _Well, they won't get it..._

* * *

**Another short chapter. But I figured since the last one was a bit longer than normal then it evens out...well I am about to go watch I Am Legend with my family. I'm excited.**

**Review please...it gives me encouragement!**

**Have a good weekend (if I don't update again soon)!!**


	13. Wind Tunnel

**Inuyasha is not mine.**

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**Pictures**

Chapter 13: Wind Tunnel

Kagome kept her eyes on the black shadows that were all she could see of the trees around them the entire time they walked back to the hut, as if expecting someone would jump out at them at any given second. Inuyasha was a bit more relaxed, though he was still scanning the forest as well.

_There's so many of them_, he thought, deciding that it was best not to tell Kagome just how many there really were. _Why the hell would they all be around here? Kagome had the Sacred Jewel back in her time, so they couldn't have been attracted to it..._

He was forced out of his thoughts as Kagome tightened her grip on his hand and leaned further against him as they continued to walk. Inuyasha turned to look at her, his eyebrows raised slightly in surprise. She was still looking at the trees though, her eyes wide with anticipation and fear.

Inuyasha squeezed her hand slightly before picking up the pace a little. They were nearing the village, and the scent of demon was even stronger now. _Damn it,_ he thought. _If only Kagome had waited for me here...this wouldn't have happened..._

The two walked briskly through the black forest until they reached its end, near Kaede's hut. Sighing with relief, Kagome pulled the hanyou up to the hut. As soon as they walked in, the miko's relief blew out of her.

Kaede was still in the same state she had been in when Kagome had left, except now there was a different figure laying next to her. "Mi-Miroku?" Kagome asked, looking questioningly over at the other people in the hut.

The young kitsune jumped up and ran over to Kagome, hopping on her shoulder as Inuyasha released her hand. "Kagome! Inuyasha!" Shippo shouted as he hugged the girl's upper arm. "You've come back!" Kagome could sense sorrow through his apparent delight at their return, and she turned to Sango.

The demon slayer was sitting next to Miroku's unconscious form with Koga, Ginta, and Hakkaku leaning back against the wall opposite her. "Sango..." Kagome said, causing her to look up. She had tears in her eyes, and the miko could see stains from the tears that must have previously been falling down her pretty cheeks. "What...what happened?"

_What's going on?_ thought Kagome as she stared at everyone's blank, sad faces. _Naraku's dead...we're supposed be happy._

Sango opened her mouth to speak but found that she couldn't as more tears threatened to pour out of her eyes, so she buried her face in her hands and turned back to Miroku. Koga saw her dilemma and spoke up instead. "The monk's wind thing didn't disappear like it was supposed to," he said, causing Kagome and Inuyasha to gasp. "Well, it did disappear, but then all these demons appeared. They kept attacking, but then the demon slayer threw this powder stuff on them and they ran away. And, well, the monk..."

"Miroku's been unconscious ever since," Sango whispered, cutting the wolf off. She looked back up at Kagome, a few tears escaping to trickle down her cheeks. "All of the...the demons that Miroku had sucked up into his Wind Tunnel just suddenly came back out of them. The Wind Tunnel's gone, but...he won't wake up..."

Inuyasha's eyes widened slightly. _That's why the scents were so familiar...we've fought all of them before..._

The hanyou frowned in concentration as he tried to remember all of the demons that Miroku had sucked up into his Wind Tunnel..."Damn it," he muttered. "Miroku used his Wind Tunnel a lot..."

Sango sighed. "And apparently he used it a lot before any of us met him," she reported sadly. "There were a lot more demons than I can ever remember seeing at one time, and...I didn't recognize most of them." She turned back to gaze helplessly at Miroku.

Inuyasha snapped his teeth together to keep from cursing again and, instead, looked over at Kagome. She had been surprisingly silent during his conversation, and she had her eyes fixed on Miroku. The fingers of her hands were curled tightly into fists, and she looked extremely angry.

"Kagome..."

"Damn Naraku," she muttered through gritted teeth, her eyes glazed over with her rage. _When did she start cussing?_ Inuyasha wondered idly as he raised his eyebrows at the girl. "He's already messed with us enough! He's finally dead, and we still have to worry about all those demons!"

Inuyasha had never seen Kagome this angry. She was nearly trembling with the rage that boiled inside of her, and he knew that if Naraku were alive now she would personally hunt him down and let him die a _very_ painful death.

The hanyou grabbed one of her fisted hands and she looked over at him, almost glaring. He curved his lips up in a small smile and looked into her enraged eyes until she relaxed and sighed. "What do we do about it?" she asked him before turning to face Koga and his companions.

Koga shrugged, while Ginta and Hakkaku just shook their heads.

Sango spoke, and everyone turned to look at her. "Isn't it obvious?" she asked, looking up at Inuyasha and Kagome with an angry expression similar to the miko's previous one. "We need to destroy those demons!"

Kagome looked over at Koga, Ginta, and Hakkaku and saw them all nod in agreement at the demon slayer. Next the miko turned to Inuyasha, who wasn't looking at Sango--he was gazing back at Kagome with questioning eyes.

The miko softened her expression and nodded slowly before turning back to look at Sango. "Okay," Kagome said.

* * *

A few minutes later the gang was ready to depart. Shippo was to stay with Kaede and Miroku just in case they woke up (and because Kagome didn't want him to get hurt fighting the demons), but the rest of them were standing outside the hut, waiting for Inuyasha and Koga to lead the way.

Before she had come out of the hut, Sango had kissed Miroku on the cheek, whispering, "I love you," in his sleeping ear. And then, after Kagome had grabbed her bow and a quiver of Kaede's arrows, they had all headed outside.

But before they left, Inuyasha remembered something. "Kagome," he said, turning to the miko. "Do you still have the jewel?"

Kagome nodded, opening her palm to show him, and then frowning. "Where should I put it?" she asked, realizing for the first time that it probably wasn't the best idea to hold it the entire time she was fighting.

Inuyasha shook his head and shrugged. "You should keep it with you," he said, causing Kagome to sigh.

They all stood there in silence for a moment before Kagome gasped. "Wait a moment," she said. The miko disappeared into Kaede's hut for a minute before returning with a small pouch in her hand. She held up the pouch, showing it to her friends. "Gramps gave this to me for my birthday last year and I completely forgot about it!" The small drawstring pouch had string attached to it.

Kagome placed the small purple jewel inside the pouch and pulled the string tight before placing it around her neck. "Okay," she said, patting the necklace lightly before stepping over and climbing onto Inuyasha's back, hugging him tightly.

Sango jumped onto a transformed Kilala's back as Inuyasha and the wolf demons began to run in the direction that Inuyasha had indicated the demons were now gathered. He was fairly surprised they weren't all killing each other, but then again most of them were probably just set on destroying the monk for sucking him up in the Wind Tunnel.

Not really knowing exactly what to expect, the group sped off towards the demons with hopes that Miroku and Kaede would wake up, and that they could all get rid of the demons quickly and without any more injuries.

But the latter hope vanished quickly as they ran up to the top of a hill, looking down at a small valley below them.

"Oh, my," breathed Kagome.

Each one of their eyes widened as they all took in the sight in front of them. Hundreds of demons of all shapes and sizes were spread out around the valley that was dotted with trees, and every last one of the demons had noticed their presence.

Eyes of every color stared up at the group of seven demons and humands that stood ready to battle.

Inuyasha swallowed hard and turned to Koga. The wolf had been gaping at the demons below, but he shook that expression off of his face. The gape was replaced with a smirk as he turned to face Inuyasha. "This should be fun, right, mutt?" he asked.

The hanyou scowled at the wolf. "Feh, whatever," he replied, turning away from the wolf to look at Kagome, who had hopped down off of his back. She was gazing at him with a worried expression on her face, but it went away as soon as he looked at her. He grabbed her hand and gave it a small squeeze before releasing it again. "We'll finish them off quickly, Kagome," he said softly. "And then we can figure out what to do with the Sacred Jewel."

Kagome smiled and turned back to face the demons, a confident expression now written across her face. She lightly touched the pouch that still held the problematic jewel, and then started walking down the hill towards the demons with all of her brave friends following closely behind.

_We'll end this now_, Kagome decided determinedly as she walked towards the battle.

* * *

**Well, I guess that was kind of a cliffhanger there at the end...sorry, everyone.**

**I'll try to update soon--I'm on spring break now (most people had it last week, but my school is strange, so...whatever) and I'm not going anywhere, sadly, so I'll probably be writing a lot. Or maybe it'll be the opposite. I'm not really sure...**


	14. Heartbeat

**Okay, I have something important to inform you guys of: this fanfic is taking place assuming that the second movie didn't happen (therefore, no Kaguya appearing at the battle scene today)...and this is basically just to avoid complications with my plotline.**

**I don't own Inuyasha or any of the other characters, places, or anything involved...**

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**Pictures**

Chapter 14: Heartbeat

"I'm winning!" shouted Koga as he punched another pathetic demon in the gut with as much strength as he could muster, his fist passing through the demon's stomach and coming out on the other side covered in blood.

"Not likely!" Inuyasha yelled back to the wolf from about ten yards away from where the demon stood. He hadn't even pulled Tetsusaiga out yet, and was merely using his claws to kill the lower class demons that made up this small army.

The dog and wolf demons had immediately become competitive as soon as they had started the battle, much to Kagome's annoyance, though she was at least glad that they seemed completely confident in themselves. She had initially been a little worried about fighting the demons, but that fear quickly faded as she realized that she was barely even needed in the battle. The demons were numerous, yes, but they lacked any real strength or strategy.

Sango was taking out all her anger and impatience on the demons as she hacked away at them with her Hiraikotsu, while Koga and his companions were beating up on every demon that challenged them.

After thirty minutes or so, the battle was still going strong, and everyone was becoming a little tired. None of the members of the group had gotten much sleep lately because of Naraku and various injuries, so they were grateful for the easy fight this was turning out to be. They all knew that it would be over soon.

Kagome was close to running out of arrows, so she lingered on the edge of the battlefield and only used her bow when a demon came to challenge her. When she had a break from the fight, she watched the battle from the base of the hill they had come down on, hardly feeling guilty about not being able to help much.

_Inuyasha and Koga seem to actually be enjoying themselves..._she thought, smiling as she watched the demons still arguing about who had the most kills. _It's like watching Sota play a video game with one of his friends._

Next, Kagome turned to look at the demon slayer. _She's probably just taking out all her anger about Miroku on these demons. Poor Sango..._

Suddenly, the miko felt warmth on her back. She turned to see the sun peeking over the top of the hill she was standing at the base of and closed her eyes, loving the warmth it brought. Kagome stretched her arms out above her head and allowed her mind to temporarily stray from the battle. _I hope Miroku and Kaede are okay,_ she thought as the sun enveloped her in warmth.

"Kagome!" someone shouted from down on the battlefield, and her eyes snapped open just in time for her to dodge the gigantic fist of a demon, over twice her size, that would have crushed her had she stayed put. She dove out of the way, dropping her bow in the process, and when the demon turned to face her again, she heard a snapping sound. One of his large red feet had crashed down on her bow.

The demon was now blocking off the battlefield, so Kagome scrambled to her feet and ran the opposite way--up the hill, not really aware of where she was headed. The only thing she knew was that the big red demon was following her wherever it was she was going...

"Inuyasha!" the miko screamed helplessly as she ran.

* * *

"Kagome!" Inuyasha shouted, breathing a small sigh of relief as she dove out of the way of the large demon's attack. _What the _hell_ is she doing?_ he thought as he desperately watched the girl, who was now running up a hill and away from the battle. He heard her scream his name as she ran, and his heart ached painfully at the sound.

An ugly purple demon took advantage of the hanyou's distraction and punched him hard in the stomach, causing Inuyasha to cough up a little bit of blood. "Out of my way, you bastard!" Inuyasha yelled at the demon, unsheathing his Tetsusaiga for the first time and slicing his opponent's head clean off. Before the head could even hit the ground, he had taken off towards the hill Kagome had disappeared behind.

But Inuyasha was on the opposite side of the valley from where she was. _Damn it,_ he thought as he tried to run but failed because of the demons getting in his way. "Move!" he growled at a group of demons that stood in his way.

Not even waiting one second for the demons to respond, he sliced all of them in half with one big swing of his sword.

Inuyasha was vaguely aware of Koga shouting his name, but he ignored it and kept pushing his way through the battle. When he had gotten about halfway across the valley, he decided he was too impatient to keep progressing this slowly. _Kagome could be hurt..._he thought. _She'd _better_ not be hurt..._

A severely pissed of hanyou raised his sword above his head. As wind started swirling around Tetsusaiga, Inuyasha swung the sword down and screamed, "WIND SCAR!" with more force than he ever had before. When the sword finished its arc towards the ground, half of the remaining demons were gone.

The hanyou then sprinted the remaining distance across the battlefield and started up the big hill. "Kagome!" he yelled as loud as he could, praying that she had managed to escape the giant demon that was pursuing her.

_Damn it, Kagome, you'd better be okay..._

* * *

Kagome ran through the trees that had started at the top of the hill, desperately searching for a place to hide from the demon that was chasing her. She could hear her pursuer stumbling through the trees somewhere behind her, grateful that he was well over twice her size and was having a difficult time following.

It was still managing to follow her, though, and she would have to find _some_ place to hide...

Kagome gasped as she saw the perfect place. There was a hollow spot near the base of a tree that she was sure she could fit in. The miko sprinted over to the tree and hurriedly squeezed inside the hollow spot, backing as far into as she could.

The demon had noticed she had stopped running and was looking for her, though Kagome couldn't see him yet. She could hear him pushing aside tree branches and stumbling over logs, each step that he took a small earthquake to the human girl. A giant red leg came into Kagome's view mere inches in front of her hiding spot, and she gasped.

The small intake of breath was barely audible to her own ears, but the large demon's enhanced senses had no trouble picking up the sound. Kagome immediately shoved her hands over her mouth and stopped breathing, hoping the demon would move on. She had no such luck, though, as the demon swiped his huge arm around his body.

Kagome could feel the top half of the tree being ripped away, and dared to take a quick breath as she was showered with little splinters of the tree bark and leaves. It was obvious the demon knew she was crouching down in what was left of the trunk, and she heard him growl triumphantly before she chanced a glance up.

The demon's ugly red face was contorted into what looked like a smile, and he pulled back his arm to take another swipe at what was remaining of the tree. Kagome scrambled out of the trunk and in between his huge legs just as she heard the snapping of roots from behind her. The demon seemed intent on keeping her from running this time, though.

A giant red hand swiped at Kagome before she had time to move further away, and she could feel something warm trickling down her back where claws had penetrated her skin. Crying out, she fell to the ground on her hands and knees.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome screamed desperately. She could hear the demon chuckle behind her, and knew that it would be over soon.

Making one last attempt to get away, Kagome crawled forward as fast as she could, ignoring the pain shooting through her body from her cut back. Her progress halted as soon as a huge foot stomped down hard on her body, crushing her into the forest floor. The foot continued to press down on her, squeezing the breath out of her frail human body.

_This reminds me of another time, _Kagome thought idly, remembering the day she was attacked in her own era, as she felt blackness crawling across her vision. _Except Inuyasha was there to save me that time..._

The pressure on her back was released, and she rolled over with the last bit of her strength, half expecting to see a red-clad hanyou killing the demon that had attacked her. Her eyes filled with tears as she realized that Inuyasha wasn't there, and that she was going to die now.

The last thing Kagome saw before her vision went black was the huge red demon pulling his arm back and releasing his fist on her body. She could have sworn she heard a familiar hanyou call her name before she blacked out, but decided that it must have just been in her head.

_Inuyasha...I love you..._

* * *

Inuyasha raced through the trees, following the scent of Kagome and the demon that had been following her.

_Kagome..._

Another familiar scent filled the hanyou's nostrils, causing his heart to beat painfully and faster in his chest. _Kagome's blood..._

He picked up his pace, tears threatening to escape his eyes as he ran. After dodging bushes and tree branches for at least a minute, Inuyasha came upon a scene that would haunt him for the rest of his life. He screamed the Kagome's name just as she was knocked over by a huge red demon.

The girl crumpled to the ground, lying in a pool of her own blood, her eyes closed. Straining his ears, Inuyasha desperately searched through the sounds in the surprisingly quiet woods for the faintest heartbeat, but was distracted as Kagome's attacker turned and faced him.

The demon growled at Inuyasha, but the hanyou couldn't have cared less. He easily sliced the red demon in half with his sword, and then staggered over to Kagome's body.

Tetsusaiga fell uselessly to the forest floor next to him as he sank to his knees and stared at the woman who meant more to him than anything else in the world. "Ka...go...me..." he said, choking on the words as tears poured endlessly out of his golden eyes.

He pulled the girl gently into his arms, wincing when he saw the huge claw marks crossing her back. Pressing his head to her chest, he desperately listened for a heartbeat coming from the girl. He gasped when he heard the faintest beat of her heart, and immediately stood up, grabbing Tetsusaiga and sheathing it before running through the trees.

As he ran, Inuyasha continued to listen to her frail heartbeat. It was growing slower and weaker by the second. "No, Kagome," he murmured. "Stay with me."

Inuyasha heard his name being called as he walked out of the last trees and looked up to see Sango, Koga, Ginta, and Hakkaku waiting for him at the top of the hill. They were all smiling, but each one of their faces was wiped clean of the smiles as they saw who Inuyasha had in his arms.

Inuyasha watched them all run towards him, barely even registering their blood-covered bodies. He, too, was covered in blood...but it wasn't his own. He looked down at the girl still being held by his own arms and buried his face in her chest, sobbing as he sank to his knees again.

"Inu...yasha..." a weak voice whispered, barely audible above his sobs.

The hanyou gasped, immediately pulling back to look into the now open eyes of the girl who had spoken. "Kagome."

The miko smiled weakly and used the last bit of her strength to place her hand on her love's cheek. "I...love you..." she whispered. Inuyasha bit his tongue to keep from crying out as he watched the girl's eyes slowly close.

"No...Kagome..." he muttered, grabbing the hand that had now gone limp and fallen back down onto her lap. "Kagome!" the hanyou said, his voice considerably louder now as he shook his head over and over again. "This can't be happening!"

Tears continued to stream down Inuyasha's face as he sat on the ground, helplessly clutching Kagome in his arms. It was then that Inuyasha realized something was missing from her body.

Kagome's heart had stopped beating.

* * *

**That chapter was stressful to write. Probably because I don't have any experience writing battle/chase scenes, so I'm sorry if it completely sucked.**

**Hmmmm...I don't have anything else to say. Review!!**


	15. Transfer

**I don't own Inuyasha. If I did there would be a whole lot more InuKag. Darn you, Takahashi.**

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**Pictures**

Chapter 15: Transfer

Inuyasha was ignorant of everything as the group walked back to Kaede's hut. He didn't care that Koga, Ginta, Hakkaku, and Sango had finished off the last of the demons without any major injuries on their part. He didn't care that every one of the others was staring blatantly at his crying form with worried expressions.

The only thing the hanyou was aware of was the lifeless body in his arms. The body of his favorite person--his savior, his best friend, his love...

Koga had tried to take Kagome from Inuyasha's arms for fear that he wouldn't be able to handle carrying her all the way back to Kaede's, but the hanyou had growled at the wolf and proceded to clutch the miko closer to his blood-stained kimono.

When they first came in sight of the village, Inuyasha finally seemed to wake up a little bit. Though his steps were still just as slow as before, he seemed to have stood up straighter, and tears had stopped trickling down his cheeks.

At last, the group came upon the hut, each and every one of them bracing themselves for the kitsune's reaction as Sango pulled back the flap and walked inside.

Inuyasha watched the other four walk into Kaede's hut in front of him and paused for a second. "Sango!" the hanyou heard Shippo shout in delight, no doubt jumping up and hugging the woman. "Where are Inuyasha and Ka--"

Shippo immediately stopped talking as Inuyasha walked into the hut. The grin on the kitsune's face faded instantly as he ran over to the hanyou and jumped up onto Kagome's lap. "Kagome...got hurt?" he asked, looking up at Inuyasha. He shook his head.

"No, Shippo," he answered quietly, barely above a whisper. "Kagome's...not alive...anymore..." Inuyasha choked on the last word, but no tears came. _I must have cried out all of my tears_, he thought as he watched the kitsune bawling his eyes out.

"How?" a voice asked, and Inuyasha looked up, surprised.

"Miroku!" Sango shouted, running over to where the monk was now sitting up. He didn't seem to notice the demon slayer, though, and kept on looking at Inuyasha. The hanyou hadn't even realized that Miroku was awake; Shippo had been enough of a distraction.

Inuyasha shook his head again and looked down at Kagome's face. "It was all my fault," he muttered. "I wasn't...paying any attention to her during the battle. A demon...started chasing her through the woods, and I...I didn't get there in time." He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Koga standing next to him, a serious look on his face.

"It wasn't just the mutt's fault," he said, looking around at the others. "We all should have known that she wouldn't be able to defend herself very well." His eyes made contact with Inuyasha's, and the hanyou nodded before looking down at the miko again.

_Damn it, Kagome...I wasn't there to protect you...I'm so sorry,_ he thought as he gently stroked her cheek with his thumb. _I'll never forgive myself..._

"Inuyasha," another voice said. The hanyou looked up again and saw the elderly miko's head turned towards him and her sad gaze meeting his. "Tell me...do ye have the Sacred Jewel?"

Inuyasha narrowed his eyes for a moment in confusion before gasping and looking down at Kagome. He could see the small lump above her chest where the pouch was..._I can use it to wish for Kagome to live..._he thought as he eagerly pulled the small drawstring bag out from beneath the cloth of Kagome's school outfit.

The hanyou could barely contain his excitement and relief as he quickly--but gently--placed the miko's body on the floor in front of him. He knelt down beside her, and, after carefully kissing her forehead, opened the pouch.

The single content rolled out on his hand, and Inuyasha held his breath as he looked at it. _This jewel has caused us so much trouble, and yet...now it's going to save Kagome's life..._he thought, staring at the the purplish pink ball that appeared to be swirling around inside itself and yet remained a solid object.

He closed the jewel tightly in his fist and held it up to his chest, where his heart was beating faster and faster in anticipation.

"I wish...that Kagome was still alive," he whispered so quietly that he could barely hear himself say it.

The whole room had gone completely silent while everyone subconsciously leaned towards the miko and hanyou to see what was happening.

But nothing was happening. Inuyasha blinked a few times before opening his hand up to see the jewel still resting on his palm in the same state it had been before. "What the hell?" he muttered. The very irritated hanyou looked up at Kaede, frustration written across his face. "Why didn't it work?" he practically yelled at the old woman.

Kaede just gaped at him. "I...don't know, child," she said as she slowly shook her head. "It should have...but perhaps I could..."

Inuyasha couldn't take it anymore. "Kagome's dead," he said with finality, cutting off the elder. "And there's nothing anyone can do about it." He threw the jewel down on top of the corpse in front of him and stormed past everyone, dashing out the door.

As tears started to fill his eyes again, Inuyasha ran to the one place he knew he might be able to feel at peace: his favorite spot in the forest, up in the Sacred Tree.

* * *

Everyone watched Inuyasha leave with distress.

"Should someone go after him?" Sango asked, looking at the door with her arms crossed.

"Nah," Koga replied, sounding more like himself than he had in the past few hours. "He'll just bite the head off whoever goes to talk to him."

"Koga's right," Shippo said, shuddering. "We should leave Inuyasha alone."

The group shared a collective sigh, each one of them secretly glad that the hanyou had left. If he was still there now, it would make this situation a thousand times worse than it already was.

"Koga," Kaede said, waiting for the wolf to look up at her before she continued. "Could ye bring Kagome and the Sacred Jewel over to me?"

Koga's eyebrows came together in confusion but he did as she asked, placing Kagome's body next to the elderly miko's still laying form and handed the bright jewel to her. _What is the old hag planning to do now?_ he thought as he backed away to where his comrades stood.

"Perhaps, if I...it _should_ work..." she muttered to herself as she looked back and forth between the jewel and the body laying next to her. Kaede could feel her head throbbing but she took a deep breath and proceded with what she was going to do. Closing her eyes, the miko slowly pulled herself up into a sitting position, trying vainly to ignore the pain shooting throughout her old body.

After panting for a moment because of the work it had taken to sit up, she slowly opened her eyes. Every eye in the hut was on her own (except for the dead one's eyes, of course) as she carefully placed her hand on the spot where Kagome's heart would normally be beating in her chest. With her other hand, Kaede held the Sacred Jewel tightly in her fist.

Everyone else in the hut watched with amazement as the elder uttered what appeared to be an incantation to herself, causing the hand that held the jewel to have streaks of pinkish light peeking out through the cracks between her fingers. The light seemed to travel from that hand to her heart, where it stopped for a moment and became bright red, and then kept travelling to her other shoulder and down to the hand that was still on Kagome.

The red glow seemed to surround the younger miko's body as it slowly drained from Kaede's hand, causing the elder to smile faintly at her success. As the glow disappeared, Kaede fell back onto her bed again, the smiled still plastered onto her face.

Everyone watched with disbelief as Kaede's fisted hand opened up to reveal that it was empty, and the other miko's eyes slowly opened.

"Kagome!" everyone shouted at the same time, rushing over to stand by her now sitting up form.

She looked around at all the faces around her before frowning. "What happened?" Kagome asked, completely confused. "I thought...that demon...I survived?" _I was sure I was going to die,_ she thought, completely baffled by her grinning friends.

"Kagome." The soft voice came from Kagome's other side, and she turned to see Kaede laying beside her, the elder's eyes closed and her breath coming slowly. "Inu...yasha was unable to bring you--a pure miko--back to life because...he's half demon. A wish so...pure would not be granted to someone impure as him. I...transferred my life into you," she whispered, her breathing labored and shallow. "Ye have to...take care...of yourself, child."

Kagome's frown deepened as what Kaede said sank into her mind. "Kaede, no!" she murmured, grabbing the old woman's hand. "Why would you--"

"Ye are young, and I am old," was the elder's simple reply as she cut Kagome off. "I am going...to be with my sister, now...goodbye..."

Kagome felt a singer tear fall down her cheek as Kaede's fell for the last time and didn't rise, her breathing halted completely. "Thank you, Kaede," she whispered, releasing the woman's hand and wiping the tear from her face.

Kagome turned to face her friends and found that their faces were wiped clean of their grins, and she noticed for the first time that one face was missing from the crowd. "Where's Inuyasha?" she asked, causing everyone to sigh.

"He was...upset when his attempt to bring you back didn't work," Sango said. "He rushed off...and we don't know where."

The miko knew where he would have gone, though. She stood up, despite protests from everyone else that she was wounded, and stretched like she had just woken up from a long sleep. As she stretched, everyone gaped in wonder at her back, where there were no cuts--there weren't even scars from where the evil demon had sliced her. Blood was still on her shirt, but the gaps in her torn shirt were the only indication that she had been wounded.

Everyone watched as Kagome slowly walked over to the door, nearly tripping over her backpack on the way. It had been sitting there since Koga and Inuyasha had gone off to fight Naraku, and the pile of pictures she had printed were still sitting next to the yellow bag. Kagome smiled as she looked at the top picture--the one of the sunset. She didn't notice that a certain monk was also looking at the pictures, getting an evil idea into his head...

She looked at the picture for one more long moment before walking out into the bright sunlight of the morning. _It was only a few hours ago when I...died..._she thought as she walked towards the spot she knew she would find the hanyou at. _I hope Inuyasha's okay._

Kagome walked briskly through the forest outside Kaede's hut, trying hard not to think about the miko who was now gone. _We'll have to bury her later,_ she thought, failing at her attempt. _I'm sure Inuyasha will want to._

The young miko walked into small clearing and looked up to see the familiar red-clad figure sitting in the Sacred Tree, right where she knew he would. She gasped silently as she saw tears streaming down the hanyou's handsome face, and she fought the urge to cry as well.

"Inuyasha!" she called up to him as she took a few tentative steps toward the tree. He was staring straight at her, obviously thinking that he was either dreaming or mentally unstable.

Kagome heard him mutter something to himself, and she walked up to the base of the tree, still watching his face. He rubbed his eyes and looked at her again, his eyes now narrowed. "Great, now I'm going crazy..." he said quietly as he shook his head.

Kagome smiled and giggled softly despite the fact that she knew he was really hurt at the moment. "You're not going crazy," she said. "Come down here."

"Yeah, right," Inuyasha answered, deciding that if he was, indeed, crazy, then he would accept it. _Kagome's dead...nothing else matters any more..._

The hanyou's eyes relaxed as he stared at the miko. "Even if I am insane, at least you _look_ real," he said, taking in her very alive appearance. _And she smells like Kagome._

Kagome was slowly losing patience. "Inuyasha, Kaede used the Sacred Jewel to bring me back," she said, keeping her frustration in check by talking slower than normal.

"Feh, if it didn't work for me then why the hell would it work for that old hag?"

After reminding herself that he didn't know about Kaede's current state and therefore didn't mean what he said, she continued. "Because you're impure," she answered, receiving a completely lost look from the hanyou.

"Impure?"

"You're half _demon_, Inuyasha. Apparently, bringing a miko back to life is a pure wish that can only be granted by someone equally as pure."

Inuyasha jumped down from the tree then, landing right next to Kagome. He wasn't smiling; on the contrary, he was scowling at the girl in annoyance. "Whatever you say. But I'm not buying it."

Kagome sighed, releasing some--but not nearly enough--of her stress in the long, slow exhale. Obviously, explanations weren't going to work on the dense hanyou.

"If I was dead, could I do this?" she asked before she shifted her weight onto her toes and stretched to press her lips against his shocked ones.

Inuyasha barely had time to register that she was kissing him before she pulled away, her chocolate eyes burning into his own golden ones. "Kagome..." he whispered before pulling her into a tight hug. "I thought...for sure...but you're alive." He hugged her even closer, and Kagome could feel his tears dropping onto her back as he stroked her hair.

Kagome wrapped her arms around the hanyou's waist, never wanting to let him go. She didn't know how long they stayed in that position, but when her shoulders were starting to ache from being stiff for so long, she relaxed her grip on him a bit. Inuyasha muttered something into her hair, but she couldn't hear him, so she broke the embrace.

Looking up at his face, she saw that he had his eyes closed and a scowl on his face. "What?" she asked, worried.

Inuyasha shook his head and opened his eyes. Kagome almost flinched at how forcefully his gorgeous golden eyes were staring into her own. "I said I'm never going to let anything like that happen to you again, Kagome," he said firmly, grabbing one of her hands in his own and using the other to cup her cheek in his palm.

"I love you," he whispered before he bent his face down and kissed her gently on the lips. Kagome smiled under his lips before wrapping her arms around his neck and deepening the kiss, her lips molding themselves to the shape of his.

Neither one of them noticed the presence of two people standing on the edge of the clearing, smiling at the couple. One of the people had a camera in his hand that was now free of the painful and problematic Wind Tunnel, and was holding the silver box up to his face. The other was simply smiling at the couple, standing beside her fiance.

The camera clicked, and Sango leaned over to look on the screen at the picture Miroku had taken. It was perfect, of course, and the woman was about to ask how he took such amazing pictures when she felt a hand on her butt.

"You lecher!" she shouted, slapping the monk across the face before turning to walk away. Miroku was so distracted with the demon slayer that he didn't notice the pair under the Sacred Tree was no longer a pair, and that the other member of the couple was now standing beside him, cracking his knuckles.

"Miroku..." Inuyasha growled threateningly, causing the monk to turn around and face him, cowering in fear.

"Have mercy on me!" he shouted pathetically before dropping the camera and running away in the direction of the village, chased by the pissed hanyou.

Kagome, meanwhile, was just shaking her head without sympathy at the man. She began to walk to where the others had left, nearly stepping on her camera on the way. Bending down, she picked up the camera that was still on, with the picture Miroku had taken frozen on the screen. She smiled at the picture of her and her love kissing on the camera, and laughed out loud at how Miroku seemed to take pictures at the worst and yet the best times.

Kagome kept walking, knowing for sure now that she was definitely glad about her decision to bring her camera back to the Feudal Era.

As she walked, Kagome could hear Miroku and Inuyasha's yelling, and her smile widened. _They'll never change_, she thought. _And I'm glad._

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**Oh, crap. I didn't intend for that to be the end of this fanfic (sorry...), but...it kinda ended well. I'm almost positive there's gonna be an epilogue to this, so that'll probably be up sometime soon.**

**Review!**


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